Weblog Post Topics for Week of 8 November 2004

Option1. Read this Open Letter to the Democratic Party:

http://fromasadamerican.blogspot.com/2004/11/how-you-could-have-had-my-vote.html

It's from a person who voted for Bush, and it's a critique of polarized political rhetoric and ad hominem attacks that I think is well worth reading. Ways you might respond include:

If you're a Republican (or not necessarily a Republican, but someone who voted for Bush): What do you think are the strongest points in this letter? What do you most agree with and why? Do you have a different position from the one "Sad American" sets forth? If so, what is your position, and how does it differ? In your response, refer to specific points and examples in the letter, using exact quotations and/or paraphrasing.

If you're a Democrat (or not necessarily a Democrat, but someone who voted for Kerry), what is your response to this letter? Has "Sad American" taught you anything about argumentation? If so, what? If you could turn back the clock, given what Sad American has said, and try to persuade an undecided but Bush-leaning voter to vote for Kerry, what would you do differently? In your response, refer to specific points and examples in the letter, using exact quotations and/or paraphrasing.

Option 2. This week (Wednesday) we're going to be talking about causal arguments. For this option, respond to one of the sample essays in Chapter 12 based on both your personal agreement or disagreement with the argument AND the criteria in the chapter for evaluating a causal argument. The essays are: "The Monster That Is High School," "When Mothers on Welfare Go to Work," and "The Causes of Teen Sexual Behavior."