Huffington Post gives 4 reasons to support accepting Syrian refugees
Six Reasons in support of accepting Syrian refugees
Argument in support of accepting Syrian refugees
National Review critiques the policy
National Review says we should be wary of accepting Syrian refugees
Pros for Accepting Syrian Refugees
One. Syrian refugees are vetted thoroughly. Since 2001, 800,000 refugees have come to America, and there are only 3 terrorism arrests.
Two. Vetting via immigration is so robust that terrorist do not prefer this method as an entry point to America.
Three. Not allowing Muslim refugees will give Americans a false sense of security because isolationism does not protect us.
Four. Accepting Syrian refugees hurts ISIS propaganda because they say they are the only alternative to chaos in the Middle East.
Five. Turning away refugees will force many to turn to ISIS for belonging, and this will result in more people being radicalized.
Six. The moral argument says that decency compels us to help people in a time of humanitarian crisis.
Seven. In America, Muslims have a better assimilation rate than they do in European countries.
Cons for Accepting Syrian Refugees
One. European Muslim refugees are wreaking havoc in Sweden, France, Denmark, Germany and everywhere else. Do we want that chaos here?
Two. The cost to American tax payers will be in the billions in a time when our economy is sluggish and Americans are hurting for jobs.
Three. Even in the absence of terrorism, we will be inviting Islamic supremacism, the idea that Sharia Law should be imposed everywhere in the world. This Sharia law can be imposed slowly and patiently and becoming a Fifth Column. A recent poll says that 51% of American Muslims want Sharia law. However, these findings are mitigated by a more moderate Muslim profile evidenced by recent Pew Research Center findings.
Four. Recent poll shows that 1 out of 8 Syrian Muslims has a positive view of ISIS.
William Deresiewicz's essay "The End of Solitude" (98).
Based on your reading of "The End of Solitude" (98), support or refute the argument that fear of solitude is a mental disease with serious consequences.
Essay Summary
Deresiewicz, or WD (use WD in your essay; it will be easier) writes that "solitude has traditionally been a societal value" in the "dimension of religious experience."
Whether we like it or not, ALL of us are religious. Alfred North Whitehead writes that what you do in your solitude defines your religion.
Connecting yourself--no matter the method you use--is your "religion."
The creative works you pursue in solitude are your religion.
The processing and recuperating of experience are your religion.
WD writes: "Religious solitude is a kind of self-correcting social mechanism, a way of burning out the underbrush of moral habit and spiritual custom. The seer returns with new tablets or new dances, his face bright with the old truth."
That is another way of saying we use solitude to take stock or inventory and critique our behaviors in the attempt for self-improvement.
A social media addict cannot engage in serious self-critique: "I don't want to criticize my behavior. I just got 400 likes on Facebook. Dude, you're killing my buzz."
Solitude, in other words, is essential for self-transformation.
In Romanticism, solitude connects us with Nature and this connection is our way of communing with the Divine.
In intellectualism, solitude is a time to read. The intellectual believes that reading strengthens the mind and spirit and compels us to self-transformation.
The Great Shift
There was a great shift in society that made solitude something to be feared and avoided.
In the suburbs, we became isolated. The Internet bridged us to the world. We changed to a people defined by our solitude to a people defined by our visibility and our validation from others. This visibility and validation has become an addiction, a feeble attempt to compensate for our fragile, fragmented, insecure, undeveloped selves. Our selves our undeveloped and fragile because we haven't feed them their essential nourishment that can only come from solitude.
The result of our addiction to being validated by others is that we have become infantile, insecure narcissists incapable of solitude, empathy, contemplation, and self-transformation.
Thesis Review:
The Importance of Using Concession with Claims
Greene and Lidinsky write, “Part of the strategy of developing a main claim supported with good reasons is to offer a concession, an acknowledgment that readers may not agree with every point the writer is making. A concession is a writer’s way of saying, ‘Okay, I can see that there may be another way of looking at the issue or another way to interpret the evidence used to support the argument I am making.’”
“Often a writer will signal a concession with phrases like the following:”
“It is true that . . .”
“I agree with X that Y is an important factor to consider.”
“Some studies have convincingly shown that . . .”
Identify Counterarguments
Greene and Lidinsky write, “Anticipating readers’ objections demonstrates that you understand the complexity of the issue and are willing at least to entertain different and conflicting opinions.”
Developing a Thesis
Greene and Lidinsky write that a thesis is “an assertion that academic writers make at the beginning of what they write and then support with evidence throughout their essay.”
They then give the thesis these attributes:
Makes an assertion that is clearly defined, focused, and supported.
Reflects an awareness of the conversation from which the writer has take up the issue.
Is placed at the beginning of the essay.
Penetrates every paragraph like the skewer in a shish kebab.
Acknowledges points of view that differ from the writer’s own, reflecting the complexity of the issue.
Demonstrates an awareness of the readers’ assumptions and anticipates possible counterarguments.
Conveys a significant fresh perspective.
Working and Definitive Thesis
In the beginning, you develop a working or tentative thesis that gets more and more revised and refined as you struggle with the evidence and become more knowledgeable of the subject.
A writer who comes up with a thesis that remains unchanged is not elevating his or thinking to a sophisticated level.
Only a rare genius could spit out a meaningful thesis that defies revision.
Not just theses, but all writing is subject to multiple revisions. For example, the brilliant TV writers for 30 Rock, The Americans, and The Simpsons make hundreds of revisions for just one scene and even then they’re still not happy in some cases.
Four Models for Developing a Working Thesis
The Correcting-Misinterpretations Model
According to Greene and Lidinsky, “This model is used to correct writers whose arguments you believe have been misconstrued one or more important aspects of an issue. This thesis typically takes the form of a factual claim.
Examples of Correcting-Misinterpretation Model
Although LAUSD teachers are under fire for poor teaching performance, even the best teachers have been thrown into abysmal circumstances that defy strong teaching performance evidenced by __________________, ___________________, ________________, and _____________________.
Even though Clotaire Rapaille is venerated as some sort of branding god, a close scrutiny exposes him as a shrewd self-promoter who relies on several gimmicks including _______________________, _______________________, _________________, and ___________________.
The Filling-the-Gap Model
Greene and Lidinsky write, “The gap model points to what other writers may have overlooked or ignored in discussing a given issue. The gap model typically makes a claim of value.”
Example
Many psychology experts discuss happiness in terms of economic wellbeing, strong education, and strong family bonds as the essential foundational pillars of happiness, but these so-called experts fail to see that these pillars are worthless in the absence of morality as Eric Weiners’s study of Qatar shows, evidenced by __________________, __________________, ___________________, and _____________________.
The Modifying-What-Others-Have-Said Model
Greene and Lidinsky write, “The modification model of thesis writing assumes that mutual understanding is possible.” In other words, we want to modify what many already agree upon.
Example
While most scholars agree that food stamps are essential for hungry children, the elderly, and the disabled, we need to put restrictions on EBT cards so that they cannot be used to buy alcohol, gasoline, lottery tickets, and other non-food items.
The Hypothesis-Testing Model
The authors write, “The hypothesis-testing model begins with the assumption that writers may have good reasons for supporting their arguments, but that there are also a number of legitimate reasons that explain why something is, or is not, the case. . . . That is, the evidence is based on a hypothesis that researchers will continue to test by examining individual cases through an inductive method until the evidence refutes that hypothesis.”
For example, some researchers have found a link between the cholesterol drugs, called statins, and lower testosterone levels in men. Some say the link is causal; others say the link is correlative, which is to say these men who need to lower their cholesterol already have risk factors for low T levels.
As the authors continue, “The hypothesis-testing model assumes that the questions you raise will likely lead you to multiple answers that compete for your attention.”
The authors then give this model for such a thesis:
Some people explain this by suggesting that, but a close analysis of the problem reveals several compelling, but competing explanations.
Types of Argument
Informal argument is a quarrel, or a spin or BS on a subject; or there is propaganda. In contrast, formal or academic argument takes a stand, presents evidence, and uses logic to convince an audience of the writer’s position or claim.
In a formal argument, we are taking a stand on which intelligent people can disagree, so we don’t “prove” anything; at best we persuade or convince people that our position is the best of all the positions available.
Thesis Must be Debatable
Therefore, in formal argument the topic has compelling evidence on both sides.
The thesis or claim, the main point of our essay, must therefore be debatable. There must be substantial evidence and logic to support opposing views and it is our task to weigh the evidence and come to a claim that sides with one position over another. Our position may not be absolute; it may be a matter of degree and based on contingency.
For example, I may write an argumentative essay designed to assert America’s First Amendment rights for free speech, but my support of the First Amendment is not absolute. I would argue that there are cases where people can cross the line.
Groups that spread racial hatred should not be able to gather in a public space. Nor should groups committed to abusing children be able to spread their newsletters and other information to each other. While I believe in the First Amendment, I’m saying there is a line that cannot be crossed.
Thesis Is Not a Fact
We cannot write a thesis that is a statement of fact. For example, online college classes are becoming more and more available is a fact, not an argument.
We cannot write a thesis that is an expression of personal taste or preference. If we prefer working out at home rather than the gym, our preference is beyond dispute. However, if we make the case that there are advantages to home exercise that make gym memberships a bad idea, we have entered the realm of argumentation.
It is an over simplification to reduce all arguments to just two sides.
Should torture be banned? It’s not an either/or question. The ban depends on the circumstances described and the definition of torture. And then there is the matter of who decides who gets tortured and who does the torturing? There are so many questions, qualifications, edicts, provisos, clauses, condition, etc., that it is impossible to make a general for/against stand on this topic.
In-Class Exercise:
Write 3 different versions of your thesis statement for typed Essay 1.
Sentences with signal phrases that signal agreement or disagreement with your source (modified from St. Martin's Guide to Writing, Eleventh Edition):
A study by X supports my position by demonstrating that _____________________________
X and Y think this issue is about ___________. However, what is really at stake here is ________________________
X claims that _________________. However, I agree with Y, who argues that _____________________
On this issue, X and Y say ___________________. Although I understand and to some degree sympathize with their point of view, I agree with Z that is is ultimately a question of _______________________.
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