Thesis for issues

War is a recurring event in humanities history. Since the time when man first began to record the events of life, war was among the most repeated occurrences of men. Just as the manner in which war is made has evolved and changed with time, so too has human perspective on war evolved and changed with each passing conflict. Where once war was accepted as a means to grow and expand a societies culture, now war is the act of criminals to enforce personal rule over another. But has war really changed all that much? Wasn't the purpose for war once an act to prove an individual's honor, or is that the notions of an unintellectual brute? In our day and age we still have wars and violent conflict, despite our more civilized societies, and I will endeavor to reason out the qualities of war that has formed humanity into what it is today. I will show you how the violence of war has shaped our civilizations into what we are as humans.

Resources

So this will be a little late but the website looks different on a pc compared to an ipad.

1. Think Again: War  by Goldstein, Joshua S.   from: Foreign Policy Sep/Oct 2011, issue 188, p- 1-9

2. In War's Wake: International Conflict and the Fate of Liberal Democracy  contributed by Elizabeth Kier and Ronald R. Krebs. part of BYU library.

3. Soldiers and Society: The Effects of Military Service and War on American Life  by Peter Karsten. part of BYU library

4. Cost of the Iraq War  by Peter Katel

5. Legacy of the Vietnam War  by David Masci

So all these literary works are related to war and the effects they have whether psychological or on society in general. Either way it is a descent start for writing the next assignment.

Possible Issues that are Important

One of the top ideas for an issue to discuss deals with war. Particularly in respect to the effect war has had on the development of society in the past, how it effects us today, and how it may effect the future. A question to ask to help with this issue may be, how has our current society been effected by the wars of the last 50 years? With this train of thought I would want to focus a lot on  how the people have been effected from war and how those people inherently effect the war itself.

Another issue that I might like to discuss is how tactics in war have changed. This may just be a spin off of the previous topic but this focus would look more on the evolution of military tactics. Starting from as far back as Egyptian tactics all the way to today's war tactics. Part of this would include reason why men continue to become soldiers and how it has changed from a class standing to a professional occupation. Obviously both are pretty linear in regards to war but it is something I feel strongly about and can discuss in depth.

Review of Analysis

I have to admit that when I first started out to write a review analysis, I had no idea what I was doing. The whole purpose of making an analysis of someone else's work didn't make too much sense to me, especially the method for doing it. After this paper, though, I feel like I do have a better grasp on the overall take on what a review analysis is. Particularly in the aspect of looking for and judging how effectively rhetoric is used in writing. Before rhetoric never really occurred to me but now I see how good effective rhetoric is and how hurtful bad rhetoric is to a paper.

Analysis of Major Pain's Blog

Using proper rhetoric has an important effect when we write literary material. As blogging has become a widespread means to communicate one’s opinions and ideas, it is important to use good rhetoric in order to properly display what it is the writer wants to say. The following post is titled, "You failed-- but then what did you do," written by someone who calls himself Major Pain. His writing is meant to inspire people to take advantage of the mistakes they make and use those mistakes as opportunities of learning and become better people. While the tone in which Major Pain writes is enthusiastic and emotionally compelling, it also reflects a sense of hard nose, lack of compassion which is meant for military soldiers (from the blog site it is apparent that Major Pain is a career soldier himself) but the advice he gives is applicable to all. There are, however, many mistakes in grammar and punctuation that leave the blog wanting in sophistication that would usually entail professional advice. Despite this the article is compelling for anyone to read, while also including relevant metaphors to help us understand and even a quote from Abraham Lincoln.

From the post, it is feasible to determine that Maj. Pain (for lack of a name his blog ID will suffice) feels quite passionate about the topic of overcoming mistakes and turning them into advantages. The emphatic tone in which he leaves his post is one that would inspire many readers to heed his advice and push through the lows of life. In his own words he uses the analogy of, “when you get bucked off [a horse], you got to get back on.” This analogy, in itself, is a very effective tool that Maj. Pain uses because the analogy is referred to on a wide spread bases and is easy to associate with. While not everyone will have experienced the exact sensation of being thrown off a horse and then getting back up to ride the animal again, the commonality of the expression and the simplicity of visualizing such an event make it an effective tool to explain his point. The point is to not let mistakes or bad things weigh you down, but rather let them be opportunities to grow and learn.

Along with the analogy of falling down, he uses metaphors associated with different occupations. Each creates an understandable association with his argument that the audience will understand. One of those deals with sports, wherein a player makes a mistake [the example used is “punting the ball into the stands”, referring to football] but he forgets about that one time and works to rectify the mistake. At the same time Major Pain alludes to an idea that those who make mistakes and then overcome them are professionals, whether it is in sports or in the office. What I like in this classification is that he is shadowing toward the idea that while everyone makes mistakes, including professionals of one occupation or another, a true “professional” is one who has learned to recognize and overcome individual flaws. This type of word play invokes a desire to not just simply accomplish jobs, but become so good at a job to be classified as a professional.

Major Pain brings greater emphasis to his writing by adding to his post a powerful quote from Abraham Lincoln. “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”—Abraham Lincoln. Having this quote inserted in the text brings a lot of validity to Major Pain’s rhetoric. It gives stability to have a quote from a credible, historical figure, like Abraham Lincoln, confirm the same idea about not giving up. As Major Pain mentions, one of the major reasons that he keeps pushing for the audience to overcome mistakes is that many of us are leaders in the world. Whether they are leaders of industry or of soldiers (like he seems to be) he makes it apparent that a good leader is to be able to effectively push through personal mistakes and learn from them so that he can more appropriately lead. Who could be a better example of this idea then Abraham Lincoln?

So while I applaud Major Pain’s use of different tools as effective and relative, I do believe that mistakes, in the form of grammar and sentence structure, take away from some of the strength of the blog post. For one thing, incoherent sentences can break up the mood of what is being written and distract a reader from the message the writer is trying to relay. Though a minor thing, repetitive mistakes eventually lead to a disinterest in the writing as it becomes more cumbersome to understand what the writer is trying to portray. The post itself is captivating throughout, but a bit more refining of the writing would bring an extra level of sophistication to the argument while not distracting the reader with simple grammatical discrepancies. That being said, Major Pain does put his own personality into the post which offers the audience a glimpse at the man writing, so as to make a more personal connection and trust that the one writing is in fact genuine with his argument. And though that imagine is rough and outspoken, isn’t great get a little advice from someone who is not afraid to be blunt.

So to summarize, I do believe this post is effective in influencing its readers to overcome mistakes and use those opportunities to improve. I feel that a number of excellent tools were used and that they effectively portray what the writer is intending to proclaim. And while the mistakes in grammar and sentence structure do create a hindrance to portions of the text, the overall tone is maintained throughout the post. After reading this post, readers will be inspired to work past their own failures and become better people by learning from those mistakes.

First Peer Review compared to Second Time

Well, even though I didn't like how much more effort I had to put into this review, I think it was more effective then the first time around. This time we had at least two other people reviewing our papers which allows for more depth in analysis. Also with two people there is different perspectives that give opportunity for more critique so that we can develop are papers more effectively. Having each of our groups papers allowed us to have time to read over a look with great intent on where we thought changes could be made. All-in-all I would say this time around was better then the first.

A piece of my analysis.

From the post, it is feasible to determine that Maj. Pain (for lack of a name his blog ID will suffice) feels quite passionately about the topic of overcoming mistakes and turning them into advantages. In his own words he uses the analogy of getting back on the horse after we have fallen off. He uses this analogy to express the importance of not giving up when we fail and that it is important to keep trying and improving from our failures. If you aren’t familiar with this analogy, imagine a cowboy who just gets a new horse that is untrained for riding. Naturally the horse will buck under the strange rider and may at times through the cowboy from the saddle, but the cowboy must get back up on the horse if he wants to train him for riding. No matter how many times the cowboy is thrown he must get back up, like in life, and continue to work towards completing the goal. This analogy, in itself, is a very effective tool that Maj. Pain uses because the analogy is referred to on a wide spread bases and is easy to associate with. While not everyone will have experienced the exact sensation of being thrown off a horse and then getting back up to ride the animal again, the commonality of the expression and the simplicity of visualizing such an event make the analogy an effective tool to explain his point about not letting failures keep us down.

Figurative Language in Review Analysis blog post.

Maj. Pain uses a number of metaphors in his blog to help the reader understand the point he is trying to get across. The point he is trying to make is that no matter if you mess up, you have to overcome it and continue on with your life, job, or whatever it may be.  One such metaphor that he uses is in reference to a football kicker punting the ball into the stands. If you are familiar with football then you would know that this action is generally a real bad display of a kicker's ability and can often times hurt his team.

I believe this metaphor is effective in getting Maj. Pain's point across because it gives a mental picture of an action construed to be very bad. While there will be a few readers who won't have seen a punt into the stands, most people have seen or at least understand  the metaphor expressed. The idea that the kicker, after making the bad kick, must continue the game and perform the next kick to his best ability is what Maj. Pain is trying to explain. If the kicker dwells on the bad kick then he may lose focus, and as Maj. Pain says, "they man up to it, take responsibility for it... and soldier on." In all I would say that the metaphor used is indeed very effective because of the visual effect that that metaphor gives to the context.

Rough Draft for Analysis

The following literary work is an analysis of the quality and effectiveness rhetoric which is used in a particular literary work used as a post on a blog. The title of the post is "You failed-- but then what did you do," written by someone who calls himself Maj. Pain. His writing is meant to inspire the audience to take advantage of the mistakes they make and use those mistakes as opportunities to learn and become better people. While the tone in which Maj. Pain writes is enthusiastic and emotionally compelling, it also reflects a sense of hard nose, lack of compassion which may not attract some of the readers to heed his advice. As well the many mistakes in grammar and punctuation leave it wanting in a sophistication that would usually entail professional advice.

From the post, it is feasible to determine that Maj. Pain (for lack of a name his blog ID will suffice) feels quite passionately about the topic of overcoming mistakes and turning them into advantages. The tone in which he leaves his post is one that would inspire many readers to heed his advice and push through the lows of our lives. In his words he uses the analogy of getting back on the horse after falling off. This analogy, in itself, is a very effective tool that Maj. Pain uses because the analogy is referred to on a wide spread bases and is easy to associate with. While not everyone will have experienced the exact sensation of being thrown off a horse and then getting back up to ride the animal again, the commonality of the expression and the simplicity of visualizing such an event make it an effective tool to explain his point.

Along with the analogy of falling down, he uses metaphors associated with different occupations. Each creates an understandable association with his argument that many people of the audience will understand. One of those deals with sports, where in a player makes a mistake [the example used is punting the ball into the stands, referring to football] but he forgets about that one time and works to rectify the mistake. At the same time he alludes to those who make mistakes and then overcome them as being professionals. What I like in this classification is that he is shadowing toward the idea that while everyone makes mistakes, include professionals of one occupation or another, a true “professional” is one who has learned to recognize and overcome individual flaws. This type of word play invokes a desire to not just simply accomplish jobs, but become so good at a job to be classified as a professional.

Maj. Pain brings greater emphasis to his writing by adding to his post a powerful quote from Abraham Lincoln. “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” Having this quote inserted in the text brings a lot of validity to Maj. Pain’s rhetoric. It gives a lot of stability to the topic at hand having a quote from a historical figure like Abraham Lincoln confirm to the same idea about not giving up. One of the major reasons Maj. Pain keeps pushing for the audience to overcome mistakes is that many of us are leaders in the world. Whether it be leaders of industry or of soldiers like he seems to be, he makes it apparent that a good leader is to be able to effectively push through personal mistakes and learn from them so that he can more appropriately lead. Who could be a better example of this idea then Abraham Lincoln.

So while I applaud Maj. Pain’s use of different tools as effective and relative, I do believe that because of mistakes in the way of grammar and sentence structure do take away from some of the strength of the post. For one thing, incoherent sentence can break up the mood of what is being written and distract a reader from the message which is trying to be relayed. Though a minor thing, repetitive mistakes eventually lead to a disinterest in the writing. The post itself is captivating throughout, but a bit more finery in the writing would bring an extra level of sophistication to the argument while not distracting the reader with simple grammatical discrepancies. That being said, Maj. Pain does put a bit of his own personality into the post which offers the audience a glimpse at the man writing, so as to make a more personal connection and trust that the one writing is in fact genuine with his argument.

So to summarize, I do believe this post is effective in influencing its readers to overcome mistakes and use those opportunities to improve. I feel that a number of excellent tools were used and that they effectively portray what the writer is intending to proclaim. And while the mistakes in grammar and sentence structure do make a hindrance to portions of the text, the overall tone is maintained throughout the post. After reading this post for myself, I do feel inspired to work past my own failures and become a better person by learning from those mistakes.

Thesis Statement

 The title of the post is "You failed-- but the what did you do," written by someone who calls himself  Maj. Pain. His writing is meant to inspire the audience to take advantage of the mistakes they make and use them as opportunities to learn and become better people. While the tone in which Maj. Pain writes is enthusiastic and emotionally compelling, it also reflects a sense of hard nose, lack of compassion which may not attract some of the readers to heed his advice. As well the many mistakes in grammar and punctuation leave it wanting in a sophistication that would usually entail professional advice.

Analysis of another Blog

The blog in which I am analyzing here comes from http://onemarinesview.com/. This blog site is written by a soldier in the Marine Corps, who calls himself Maj Pain. The title of the particular blog I am analyzing is "You failed - but then what did you do?" My analysis is to answer the following four questions and because I like doing things the easy way, I am just going to list the question with my answer as derived from the blog.

1. What is the author trying to do?  The author's purpose of this blog is to convince the readers that when you make a mistake in life or do something wrong that it is important to not dwell on that mistake. The thing to do is learn from it and then progress from the mistake and improve. There is also good emphasis on excepting that we are all imperfect and that we should accept our mistakes as learning opportunities and not become consumed by our flaws.
2. What specific tools/strategies are they using?  The author uses his tone to express his sincerity in what he is writing and tries to make the tone becoming strong enough to convince you of his point. With that he adds in a number of metaphorical examples and also gives some personal experience to prove his point of view.
3. What does this tool make the audience think/feel/believe in?  Again with the tone of his writing, you get the feeling that he is passionate about this particular subject and that he really wants to get his point across. The metaphors he uses also are of the type that are easy to understand and show good practical reasoning to support his point of view.
4. Why does the author need the audience to think/feel/believe in this?  The author, being a military leader, understands how vital it is for people to learn from their mistakes. His experience has taught him how to become more effective by learning from his mistakes and I'm sure he has seen what becomes of someone who dwells on mistakes. Because of his position as a leader of fighting men, he is making this argument to help improve his men, and any others who may read it, to become stronger and make their respective units stronger as well.

Review of What I've Done

So this blog is to be a review and analysis of my last blog. The thing is that I'm not terribly good at critiquing my own work so I hope that the analysis I come up with is note worthy. I guess the first thing of note is the lack of a title. This would indeed make the onset of the blog a little confusing and all around not very explanatory. However I do believe that I effectively made clear the purpose and thesis for the blog. That purpose being my intention to clarify the importance of sci-fi.

In noting the extra support elements within the blog, namely the picture of "Spock" and the video of two lightsaber duelist, I do believe these effectively show the intensity in which nerds follow sci-fi. The picture not only shows the individual's sci-fi fascination, but also shows the number of followers often present at such events that is being expressed. It isn't a finite number that is expressed but the multitude is a good indication of followers. As well, the video expresses the depth that some nerds go to in the expression of their sci-fi observance. It may just seem like a simple coregraphed duel, which isn't easy in itself especially at the speed in which they did it, but also notice the detail to special effects. This including sound, the blade appearance, and the interactions with the environment. Producing such effects takes a lot of time and devotion.

I feel that overall I maintained a similar tone throughout the blog. I didn't, however, provide much in the way of a logical argument. Such an argument was present in earlier drafts but due to repeated correcting I didn't feel I could properly word my point of view and so left it out of the final draft. That being said, I do believe that through my tone I expressed my true and sincere love for sci-fi and left the blog in a manner as to effect an emotional connection from my expression. Hopefully one that would ultimately convince the reader to grow in appreciation for sci-fi.

Through the last fifty years or so, there has been a steady increase of interest and popularity in the fictional realm that we call Science Fiction, known by its followers as Sci-fi. In my reference to Sci-fi, I not only include written works but also all forms of Sci-fi observance. This can include other forms of media like movies or video games, and even include dressing up for conventions. These particularly devoted followers have also become known by a unique title once used to represent social rejects and unpopular people, but are now pretty much the coolest individuals in the world. These followers are called nerds, and their passion for Sci-fi is often times a rather significant quality in their lives. Sci-fi may become such an important part of one’s life that often society will see a truly devoted nerd and deem him or her as a waster. Deeming them too enveloped in childish imaginations as to waste his or her life away on the foolish pastime of Sci-fi. Well if you are one of those who believes that Sci-fi is a ridiculous hobby meant for little children and not for adults, then this paper is for you. By the end of this paper I hope to show you the error of your ways in not believing the importance of Sci-fi and to prove the essential nature that it has come to play in the lifestyle of our day.

There are many who would hold the title nerd as a negative quality and believe Sci-fi to be a foolish pastime of children, but oh how wrong they are. Despite the many so called “intellectuals” who scoff at Sci-fi and put it off as ridiculous nonsense, Sci-fi lives on. Even the many parents who deny their children an opportunity to delve into Sci-fi have not brought an end to it. Consistent harassment like, “stop with those childish fantasies,” or, “when will you grow up and get a real life,” has not discouraged my fellow nerd brothers and sisters to forego their passions. In fact it is only getting stronger and more prominent in today’s society.

Some ask, “What is so great about Sci-fi that has people so enthralled in it?” There are varying answers to this question depending on individual interest but the all-encompassing truth is that Sci-Fi rocks beyond all belief! Where else can people escape this life of drudgery that we have and discover the mysteries of an expansive universe? Life in Sci-fi is not inhibited by practicality or accepted propriety. The girl, too shy to talk to that cute boy, can become an explorer of galaxies undiscovered by human kind. Or the quiet boy that no one knows can become the one person on the entire planet with the power to save humanity from galactic destruction, and then become the hero of our world. Even that kid always bullied and picked on by the jocks, that give him wedgies, steal his lunch money, and make him do their homework, can become the enslaver of entire alien races, ruling with a savagery that makes him a man feared by all who hear his name.

The imagination does not end with the transition into adulthood though. Some may choose to forget the fantasies and dreams of their childhood and “grow up,” but most will continue on in the life of glory and adventure offered by Sci-fi, and why should they not. We are all familiar with the monotony and stress associated with the rigors of being an adult. While “normal” adults would turn to boring means of respite like alcoholism or gambling, we nerds are able to use our more evolved imaginations to escape into worlds filled with thrill and excitement. I will not deny that it can be difficult at times to do this. It seems that ever more frequently there is some chore or work that steps in the path between nerds and their passions. I do consent that there is some need for moderation so that the works of life can be performed, but those needs do not qualify for a total revoke to Sci-fi observance. Those truly committed will always find time to build and cultivate their alter egos. Whether it is in the form of reading the next book in the massive Star Wars saga, or on the battlefield of two rival Space Marine clans, or even in a massive convention hall dressed as your favorite Federation Starfleet officer, you cannot be as completely and totally awesome in this world as you can be in the world of Sci-fi.

My own personal experience gives a good perspective to why Sci-fi has been important to me. When I was about ten, my family moved to a place that could be considered by most as the sticks. We lived so far out that we were using dial-up internet—imagine that, dial-up internet in our day. Now I am an outdoors kind of guy, but when your closest friend is a good 40 miles away and you’ve memorized every tree within a two mile radius, it can get kind of boring. But for my respite I had video games for entertainment. And there was no better game than the most awesome first person shoot, HALO!

Halo of course is just one example of the vast industry which sci-fi brings to the market. When considering the much longer sagas that have been produced through Star Trek, and of course the most excellent and best Sci-fi work ever, Star Wars, there is no doubt that a Sci-fi free world would mean disaster for the whole planet. I mean seriously, what would we do when aliens begin to attack our planet. If we never had Sci-fi to teach us how we could possibly fight back to defend ourselves then we would be doomed. Or how to survive the apocalypse when a freak strain of virus begins to turn all human life into zombies. I guarantee you that the first people to go are going to be all of those who laughed at Sci-Fi and thought it some stupid kid fantasy. Well you won’t be laughing anymore since then you will only be a slobbering, walking disease with a scrambled egg for a brain.

That's what I'm talking about.

Hippo-pocracy

So I would like to bring another star wars analogy into play for this blog but I thought of a cooler analogy. One of my favorite animals in the world is the hippo. If you just think about it for a moment then you would agree with me. All hippos do is just lay around in the water or on a sand beach all day and chill. Just float around, relax, have no major worries of any sort. I mean what is cooler then that. Since they are herbivores they don't have to hunt for food, just find some nice lake weeds. And their sheer size and mass makes them at the top of the food chain so no one is going to mess with them. Despite all the coolness factors that they have, they do have a major flaw which in respect to life just burns me up, hippos are hypocrites. Yes indeed, it is sad but most certainly true.

The reason they are hypocrites is because the awesome chill factor and perceived serenity, hippos are one of the most dangerous land animals. I even read somewhere that in Africa more people die from hippo attacks than any other animal, and since this is a blog it doesn't have to be completely factual. But how annoying is it in life to see people who claim to be a certain way and then just flat out make a 180 degree turn out of nowhere. And it is not like a now-and-then type of thing when a person has a bad day but when you can tell that despite what an individual claims to believe or follow he is just a flat out hypocrite. Maybe that person doesn't realize it, kind of like a hippo is just trying to get his chill on when some idiot wants to get too close, but you need to be what you really are. If it turns out you don't that person then there is always repentance and change, just make sure the change comes because you want it and not because of some other third party reason, cause then you an even bigger hypocrite.

Revolution against Idiocracy

Let me tell a little story from star wars. There once was a young man who grew up on a back water planet at a time of a great galactic war. He was just trying to live the peaceful average life of a miner but life didn't seem to want to be so easy on him. So through extreme circumstances he found himself on the run and had to enlist into the Army of the Sith to find some form of relief. Yet finding relief of any sort is next to impossible in the army and especially with the sith as your masters. And yet even the simple life as a soldier wasn't any sort of respite, as he was discovered to be sensitive to the force and subsequently sent to the academy on Korriban to develop his potential. This young man, who became known as Bane, was like any good student would be and worked hard in his studies and exercises to become the best he could and would eventually become the strongest student at the academy. Yet he noticed a difference in what he studies taught him and what the instructors said. After discovering this twisting distortion of the force, he set out to cleanse the dark side of the force by destroying all the sith of this degenerate order, which he succeeded in doing and thereby brought the dark side back into its proper frame of order.
Now to relate this to life. Have you ever wonder why throughout our lives we are forced to partake in events that are rather insignificant in the scheme of our lives? In particular I focus the question towards academic requirements in our education system. I do see the necessity of a good grounding of basic knowledge that is achieved throughout high school, with reading, writing, mathematics, and etc. Especially since those different area of study can produce ideas of a career choice that a student would like to follow. But why the heck as a 22 year old, legally considered adult with a clear and concise direction that I have for my life, am I being forced to take subjects of study that I know for sure will not increase my intelligence for the simple fact that I don't care to learn about it. Does it make since to have to spend money taking classes at a university that I have no interest in and yet am forced to take because some old "scholar" who thought he was smart says I have to take? Socrates didn't become intelligent by following another man's idea of what he should know, but he study those areas that interested him and who could call him ignorant if he didn't know basic algebra. There is no point of asking a historian how to do calculus, he doesn't give a crap. You ask a rocket scientist about calculus because that's what he cares about. Alas, we are forced to waist our efforts studying that which might as well be a fart in the wind for all I care about it. If only I had a lightsaber and telekinetic abilities, then I would have something really worth studying. Not to mention the power to change idiocracy.

The Force Within Us

  To those who know me fairly well, knowledge of my great passion for Star Wars is no secret. I admit it quite fervently and take delight to mention or even discuss Star Wars in everyday circumstance. Anything from the cinematography of the movies to the intricate details of the Star Wars galaxy which has come alive through novels, games, and other media. One thing in which I passionately believe, in accordance with the extreme nerd mania which is involved to be a true fan, is that the dark and light sides of the force are not separate existing parts of the collective essence of the force, but rather the internal struggles of light and dark that individuals struggle with in the natural progression of life. True there are characteristics that show as evidence of light or dark affiliation, but the underlying fact is that the force is just the power, and the wielders of it are the dark users entrapped in their passions and greed for the power of the force, or those practicers of the light who are pacified by the serenity which the force can bring. The same can be said within our own reality. It is not the power or authority we have or even the circumstance in which we live that will determine the outcome of our goodness or wickedness, but what we determine to make of ourselves.