Monsters and Flowers

When you watch the news, what appeals more to you: the negativity or the positivity? Personally, I would rather listen to how and why someone is on trial than where someone is planting a new garden to assist in the "let's go green" movement. Why is this? Society feeds off of negative energy. We like to engage in activities that excite and stimulate us. We enjoy having something to talk about and, after a while, the "going green movement" gets boring.

I say all of this because I wanted to take a moment and touch on how media portrays situations, events, and people through the media. More specifically as it relates closely to us Penn State students, I wanted to discuss the manner in which us students were portrayed through media when we found out Joe Pa was fired.

When I was watching the news after everything happened, I only recall seeing students screaming and rioting. I only saw the cops macing the crowds of the "uncontrollable" students. More unforgettably, the flipping of the news van. It is funny how the News captured that aspect of the student's effects. Now, I was there (not participating, but observing) and I remember everything; not just what I wanted to remember. I remember the PROTEST because that is how it started. I remember the students just walking in the streets crying in sympathy for Joe. And what will never slip my mind is how the football team stood at the corner of Beaver sulking because they could not shake their coach's hand for the last time before the big game. Of course the reporters did not capture those moments because they want to sell "a" story and not "the" story; and negativity sells. And as soon as the calm, open talks at Old Main turned into crazy riots, you saw the journalists running in excitement with a pen and pad to capture it "all" on paper. It is hilarious because they sold the story all over ABC NEWS and FOX NEWS, and every other channel they could get it on; and the public bought it.

Rhetoric and Civic Life

Rhetoric is beauty. Rhetoric is the key to communicating effectively, and communication is beautiful. According to dictionary.com, rhetoric is: the ability to use language effectively. What is communication if it is not effective? I believe it is just words. The way in which people write things can determine how it can be understood. Incorporating pathos, logos, and ethos are strategies people utilize to draw others in to what is being said. Or it can be to persuade someone to partake in certain activities or feel a particular feeling. Advertisements are a perfect example. Most use emotion and logic (facts) to get the public to believe and buy into a product. That is why Rhetoric is power. If used effectively, it can have an empowering effect or a negative impact. Rhetoric has the capability to make you buy a product, adopt a practice, live a certain life, or change what you believe in. Rhetoric comes in different forms. It is especially popular in music. The way songs are put together, song writers persuade us to dance a certain way, dress in a specific manner, and even make us believe that only if we follow suite, we can be as prominent as them. I can even attest that I feed into their language. I have fallen into materialism because they convince me it will reflect a more cunning image, when in reality it shows insecurities. I believe rhetoric correlates with the audience. If your audience is interested in your language than they will be more interested in being persuaded to do something. How else does rhetoric tie in to civic life, and why do you think we use rhetoric strategically rather than accidentally? Do you think that if there was no interest from an intended audience that language can be persuasive, and inturn effective? What ways in society do we use it besides in writing? Lastly, how do you use rhetoric to effectively communicate in your life? I ask this because the way you use rhetoric can be the difference between landing a huge corporate deal or failing in your attempt. Rhetoric is simply effective communication. If you can communicate effectively, you can network. If you network with the right people, life-changing opportunities will arise.