Check Homework #20 on Anti-Vaxxers
Homework #21: Write a 3-paragraph essay that analyzes the causes behind America's tendency to confuse human intelligence with human worth. See David Freedman's"The War on Stupid People."
Essay #5, Your Capstone Essay worth 225 points Due May 31
You must have 3 sources for your MLA Works Cited.
Option One. In the context of the Netflix documentary Dirty Money, Episode #2, "Payday," write an argumentative essay that answers the question: Were Scott Tucker and his associates fairly prosecuted or did the government overreach its powers and exact unjust punishment on these allegedly greedy businessmen? Be sure to have a counterargument section. For your required 3 sources, you can use the documentary, the Vulture review, and the Atlantic review.
Option Two. In the context of the Netflix documentary Dirty Money, Episode #1, "Hard Nox," support, refute, or complicate the assertion that in spite of Volkswagen's 30 billion dollars paid in fines and legal fees for committing fraud and other crimes, that their ascent in the world economy is evidence that Volkswagen, as an agency of unbridled corporate greed, has triumphed over the wheels of justice. You must have a counterargument section. For your required 3 sources, you can use the documentary, the Vulture review, and the Atlantic review.
Option Three. In the context of the essays in Chapter 10, defend, refute, or complicate the assertion that young people should be required to perform public service.
Option Four. Defend, refute, or complicate Martin Luther King’s justification of civil disobedience in his essay “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (309)
Option Five. In the context of the online essay “Anti-Vaxxers: Enjoying the Privilege of Putting Everyone at Risk” by Jeb Lund, support, defend, or complicate the assertion that the vaccination crisis results largely from the hubris of white privilege. You can refer to the John Oliver video on vaccinations.
Option Six. In the context of “The War on Stupid People” by David H. Freedman, support, refute, or complicate the notion that society places misplaced admiration for intelligent people.
Option Seven. Support, defend, or refute the notion that college debt should be forgiven.
Option Eight. Support, refute, or complicate the argument that college should be free.
For context, see Chapter 11 in your book. Also consult the following:
Forgiving All Student Loan Debt Would be an Awful, Regressive Idea The Problem with Public Colleges Going Tuition-Free
Vaccine Debate
Option Five. In the context of the online essay “Anti-Vaxxers: Enjoying the Privilege of Putting Everyone at Risk” by Jeb Lund, support, defend, or complicate the assertion that the vaccination crisis results largely from the hubris of white privilege. You can refer to the John Oliver video on vaccinations.
"Why Vaccination Refusal Is a White Privilege Problem"
Popular Mechanics Looks at Claimed Scientific Connection Between Vaccines and Autism
"Anti-Vaxxers: Enjoying the Privilege of Putting Everyone at Risk" (Rolling Stone)
"What Everyone Gets Wrong About Anti-Vaccine Parents"
"We Seem to be More Frightened Than We've Ever Been"
"How to Change an Anti-Vaxxer's Mind"
Jeb Lund's brilliant introduction and transition are roiling with pathos.
Jeb Lund points out the Anti-Vaxxer rhetoric and personality profile:
"Follow the money." Blame "Big Pharma."
Rely on pseudo-science.
Be too lazy to actually read real studies.
Be so narcissistic that you impose your sick children on others.
Believe that your trust in a conspiracy theory shows how much smarter you are than everybody else.
Be so self-centered that you can afford to be wrong, but the people your children infect cannot afford it.
Sample Thesis
While many parents are well intentioned and fearful of vaccines as they are mired in a sea of overwhelming alarmist information, their decision to deny their children vaccines is misguided, at best, and morally repugnant, more likely, when we consider their refusal to acknowledge real science and empirical evidence, their reliance on logical fallacies and quack pseudo-science, their narcissistic conspiracy mentality, and, most of all, their decision to exact a potentially fatal pestilence upon our children.
Sample Outline
Paragraph 1: In your introduction explain the justifications used for the anti-vaxxer movement.
Paragraph 2: Refute or defend those justifications in your thesis.
Paragraphs 3-6 are your supporting paragraphs.
Paragraph 7 is your counterargument-rebuttal section.
Paragraph 8 is your conclusion, a restatement of your thesis.
Sample Thesis #2
Anti-Vaxxers are part of a larger, deeper problem that threatens civilization as we know it: The delusion that all opinions are the same, that everyone is entitled to their facts, that it is elitist to believe in expertise when all of us can, thanks to a Google search, be experts, that there is no bedrock reality but rather a subjective interpretation of "facts," and the narcissistic belief that wealth gives one a sense of entitlement that says wealth can never be wrong.
Sample Thesis
While many parents are well intentioned and fearful of vaccines as they are mired in a sea of overwhelming alarmist information, their decision to deny their children vaccines is misguided, at best, and morally repugnant, more likely, when we consider their refusal to acknowledge real science and empirical evidence, their reliance on logical fallacies and quack pseudo-science, their narcissistic conspiracy mentality, and, most of all, their decision to exact a potentially fatal pestilence upon our children.
Sample Outline
Paragraph 1: In your introduction explain the justifications used for the anti-vaxxer movement.
Paragraph 2: Refute or defend those justifications in your thesis.
Paragraphs 3-6 are your supporting paragraphs.
Paragraph 7 is your counterargument-rebuttal section.
Paragraph 8 is your conclusion, a restatement of your thesis.
Group Activity
Get into groups of 4 or 5 and ask the following 3 questions:
One. Do you have an emotional response to parents who don't vaccinate their children?
Two. Are parents who don't vaccinate their children getting a "bad rap"? Explain.
Three. How could you incorporate these two questions into an introduction for your essay?
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