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Buying Local Questions.

1. No she hasn’t convinced me that it matters because of me personally living on a farm I know the importance of large farms. I also have friends to run and live on large scale farms that aren’t monocultures like she claims.

2. Some of the counter arguments she discusses are things like the economic good of buying from local farms. How locally grown food is more expensive than imported or industrially grown for lack of a better term. My problem with this paper is that she doesn’t really counter those arguments. She simply looks to the benefits she already listed as arguments instead of refuting the counter arguments.

3. On page 3 of this paper Spriggs tells a story of an old famer as he regales how things used to be before the shift toward industrial farming. This is an effective use of pathos to persuade the audience to feel sympathy for the man as the industry changed around him.

4. Spriggs’s photos aren’t that effective in contributing to her argument. They are very generic and not very interesting photo. I think they’re there more for readers that aren’t as familiar with farm life. More for visualization than effect.

Essay

           Is buying from local farms really the way to change an industry? I would argue that the economic impact of that shift would not make it worth it. Large scale farming and local farms can coexist with one another and neither is better than the other. Both types of farm have their own benefits that the other can’t provide. Solely relying on one or the other is not the right way to make and industrial change.

           Having more foods available to the public in every season is a good thing. Especially in winter and in the northern part of the country where buying local wouldn’t be possible because the snow and cold prevent growth of fruits and vegetables. Meat would still be available however it would be a struggle because feed for cattle, pigs, chickens, etc. wouldn’t be grown either and small-scale farms would have a hard time producing feed that would last the winter. When arguing against the industrial farm industry winter is something not thought about. Only the southern parts of the country would benefit from buying local and if shipping is an issue then it’s the only way to get food to the rest of the country in winter.

           Buying local is not a bad thing. Neither is large scale farming. In fact, I believe they can coexist. Americans have a soft spot for small businesses. So, we as consumers would gravitate towards produce that comes from smaller farms. We already do this with small businesses in other fields. We buy from local shops in towns and through online retailers. Americans like to feel good about themselves by helping a smaller, sometimes struggling businesses. The same principle could be used for farms.

           Is buying solely from local farms the answer to helping farmers? No, it certainly isn’t. Making that sort of industrial change that Spriggs seems to be arguing for would do more damage to the nation as a whole rather than benefit it. Smaller farms would struggle to produce food during the winter, so shipping would be necessary to deliver food to the parts of the country where the snow and cold prevent growth of crops. In today’s modern times, large scale farms are crucial to making sure that people have food available year-round. But small- and large-scale farms can co-exist. The American attitude toward small business could almost guarantee that small farms wouldn’t suffer just because large-scale farms exist.

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           Searching for a purpose in life can be difficult at times. Through learning a trade, I believe I’ve found mine. Creation is a wonderful thing. The feeling that I get after finishing a project that took me 8-25 hours to complete is a level of satisfaction not easily describable. Knowing something came from your efforts and labor brings me happiness and purpose. I create pieces of art and useful tools and I take great pride in my work. This is the story of my progression thus far. Not a singular story but a series of events that developed my passion over time.

           It started way back in the 4thgrade. We were on a field trip to an 18thcentury recreation village. It was full of traditional activities. One of which was a blacksmith demonstration. There was a large, scraggily looking man with a beard. He was the blacksmith and he made a small sword out of a nail. Our teacher wouldn’t let any of us in the class keep it. As soon as I got home, I told my parents about it. To my surprise my father actually had a forge and a spare anvil and tools for me to use. My dad is a farrier, or he puts horse shoes on horses. I was in awe, for I had no idea he had these available. Soon my father showed me the basics of heating metal and hitting it with a hammer. I made a wedge of sorts, for lack of a better term.

           Fast forward a few years. To my 9thgrade year of school. I had been blacksmithing very scarily until now. So, I decided to dip my toes a bit further. I started making knife like objects. Nothing close to a finished project but I was trying and learning. I researched further. YouTube videos, online forums, articles and people on social media I finally found something that I enjoy learning about. The craft of blacksmithing, bladesmithing, and knifemaking fascinate me. My 10thgrade year I started making small keychains, leaves, bottle openers, hooks and coat racks. Getting my hammering skills better. Practice, practice, practice. I made my first actual knife when I was 16. It was out of an old horse shoeing rasp of my dad’s and pine scales for the handle. It was really bad.

           I started making more and more knives. Each one better than the last. For the next year I used very limited materials. Old metal that I didn’t know what it was and simple handle materials. Hickory, oak, mahogany, very simple woods. I like to think of that year as a learning one. Learning the processes. Expecting more out of myself and pushing myself to do better. That effort paid off, I think. For when 2018 came there was a huge leap in quality in my work.

           In 2018 I started to expand my knowledge and materials. I started using modern blade steels, exotic woods for handles, different and more complicated blade shapes and handle designs. I started making sheaths and doing leather working. I’ve even recently started the art of engraving, something completely new to me. Me and my father share a workshop and my space has grown even in the last year. The equipment that I’ve acquired has exponentially grown. I do believe that this is my purpose in life. To make things with my hands. To get dirty and produce something of beauty. Is it a dangerous job? Yes absolutely. But it gives me a purpose and makes me happy. Even at my lowest points in my life my craft has been the thing I can look to for focus and clarity. It helps clear the mind and focus the body.

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Position Paper

Travis Jacobson

Position Paper

Dr. Glenda Jones

English 101

10/23/18

Socialism: A Terrible Philosophy and Practice

           Instead of private ownership of property and production, the economic philosophy of socialism calls for the state or public ownership of property, production, and natural resources. Socialism and communism are direct oppositions to the economic system of capitalism, or the private ownership of property, production, etc. Socialists believe that capitalistic economies create a large amount of inequality between working peoples and their employers. In the eyes of a socialist, anyone making lots of money, maybe because of their innovations or inventions, are seen as evil oppressors. The term socialism got its start in 1848 when German philosopher Karl Marx wrote his communist manifesto. Since then many nations have had their own interpretations of Marx’s writings. Most however take his ideas to the extreme. Resulting in death and devastation. From Stalin’s U.S.S.R., Mao Zedong’s communist China, to Fidel Castro’s communist Cuba, interpretations of Marxist ideas have spread throughout the world in recent history. The economic system of socialism is one of the more terrible ideas of how a government and a society should be run.

           Socialism gets its origins during the industrial revolution. Where expanding industry took away from farmland and working conditions in most factories were not regulated. So those conditions were not ideal for workers. They worked long hours with little pay in very dangerous jobs. That anger of not being treated fairly quickly grew among the working class. Karl Marx touches on this in the Manifesto of the Communist Party. “Despite their imagination and dedication to the cause of the workers, none of the early socialists met with the full approval of Karl Marx, who is unquestionably the most important theorist of socialism,” (Ball, Dagger, para 16).

Marx wrote the manifesto along with Friedrich Engels. Engels believed that the roots of Marx’s theory comes from German philosophy, British economics, and French socialism. German philosophy being the greatest inspiration to Marx because he himself was a German philosopher. Marx however had a conflicted view of capitalism. He believed it to be both a progressive and divisive system. Progressive because of the innovations it gave way to, divisive in that it created lots of inequality between employer and employee. As time went on, Marx’s and Engel’s ideas spread. Most notably to Russia. Where, in 1917, during the first world war, Vladimir Lenin lead the Russian Revolution. Where proletariat revolution was encouraged by Lenin and his associate Leon Trotsky. Their revolution was successful, and the Bolsheviks took power. After Lenin’s death in 1924, Joseph Stalin took power of the Soviet Union. This is where things in socialism’s history start going bad. Stalin took power because he ran Trotsky out of Russia and had him killed. Ice pick to the side of the head. After World War II, communism and socialism began to spread. To Mao Zedong in China, where an estimated 70 million people died because of socialist policies. In the Soviet Union an estimated 20 plus million people died. Many of starvation due to food shortages. An estimated 100 million people have died under communist regimes.

           The short comings of socialism and communism are predictable. Government corruption, food shortages, violence, and poverty. This however, doesn’t seem to make people shy away from it. There is a new wave of socialist ideals in some of the American youth, and who they vote for. During the 2016 presidential election, candidate Bernie Sanders ran as what he calls a democratic socialist. In 2018 there is a new candidate, in New York’s 14thcongressional district she beat Joe Crowley in the Democratic Primary. Her name is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Another self-described democratic socialist. They both believe in certain policies, universal healthcare for all, higher minimum wage, better welfare, and the list goes on. On the surface these policies seem moral and righteous. This isn’t the case. The major criticism of these policies is how the government is going to pay for it. Cortez claims that a Medicare for all would be a cheaper alternative to the current system we have. A Washington Post fact check article written by Glenn Kessler shows that this is not the truth: “But the study makes clear that this is an unrealistic assumption and in fact the plan would raise government expenditures by $32.6 trillion over 10 years. Without the provider cuts, the additional federal budget cost would be nearly $40 trillion,” (Kessler, para 20). Socialism is growing in popularity. Especially in the American youth. According to Samuel Hammond in an article he wrote for the National Review: “Thanks to the attention generated by Bernie Sanders’s 2016 campaign, DSA membership has surged from around 5,000 to just under 50,000, transforming it from a peripheral educational organization into a political force in two short years” (Hammond, para 2). The DSA Hammond mentions refers to the Democratic Socialists of America. This grow in popularity in socialist ideas should be incredibly concerning.

           The ideas of socialism, rooted in the theory of Karl Marx, have resulted in millions of deaths across the globe. The philosophy of socialism violates human nature itself. Humans are naturally greedy creatures. Socialism violates that because it assumes that humans will naturally give up their belongings and property for the good of society. Since this isn’t the case, socialists rely on the state to make those things happen. This, of course, gives too much power to the government. It also leads to a select few being placed in power. Corruption is soon to follow. An example of this would be current day Venezuela. Where President Maduro’s government has left its people starving while the ruling party’s members live a life of luxury. It’s a horrendous situation. But a counter argument would be the Nordic countries like Sweden and Denmark. The only issue however is that these countries are not purely socialist. They use many capitalistic principles. Their tax rates are more than double that of the United States. Their health care is universal and available to all citizens however, in the United States health care is significantly higher quality and these Nordic countries don’t pay for national defense. The U.S. does that. While the Nordic country’s governments have more say in everyday life than most countries, their governments don’t have complete say like Cuba or Venezuela. Socialism is one of the greatest shams in recent history. It places governmental control of life over the individual. It gives too much power to the state and violates human nature.

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Mutt love rescue does a good job in persuading through use of kind sympathetic language and through pictures of their dogs and sometimes of not their dogs. You can volunteer, donate, adopt, and foster. They try and get you to act. Through their use of terms like “saving a life” they do a good job making you feel like you’re obligated to do something. They use pathos through the pictures of the dogs they have up for adoption. It appeals to your emotions seeing cute dogs in need of homes. They use ethos to appeal to your ethics. It makes you want to help the dogs because they make it out to be the right thing to do. They use logos because the website makes sense. What they could do better is update the website and make it look better. The color scheme is very bland, and the website could use an update. I do believe it does a good job at persuading your heart and emotions into adopting, fostering, or some other type of action. 

http://muttloverescue.org/index.html

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Movie Review: Eraser

The American action thriller movie Eraser was released in 1996. This movie was directed by Chuck Russell. Its main star is Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with others likes James Caan, Vanessa Williams, James Coburn, and Robert Pastorelli. The film follows U.S. marshal John Kruger. His job, “erasing” high profile witnesses in high risk situations. Kruger does this by faking the witness’s deaths and creating new identities for them and getting them new lives. The story really starts when Lee Cullen, an executive at Cyrez corporation. Cyrez is a defense contractor. Cullen discovers a plot to sell a new prototype rifle called the EM rifle. Cullen is then attacked at her home and Kruger rescues her and hides her in an apartment in New York City. Kruger then learns there is a mole in this organization. This leads to a raid on a remote cabin to find a contact. The contact ends up being murdered by Kruger’s mentor DeGuerin who turns out to be the mole. On the flight back to D.C. DeGuerin drugs Kruger and tries to frame him as the mole. Kruger escapes from the plane and him and Cullen are branded as fugitives. This leads to Cullen getting kidnapped and held hostage. Kruger then discovers an illegal-arms deal with the Russian mafia, who kidnapped Cullen. Kruger teams up with a former contact of his and the New York mob. They stop the arms deal at the docks and critically injuring DeGuerin. Weeks later Kruger brings Cullen to a hearing to testify for her experiences.

           The genre of Eraser is action/thriller. The premise of the movie however, would’ve been better as a tv show. It feels as though the movie throws out the suspenseful premise of an organization designed to give people new lives, and it turns into your basic action movie. The second act is all over the top action senses and not so clever one-liners. But overall it was an alright movie. It wasn’t one of Schwarzenegger’s more recognizable roles like Terminator or Predator, but he does a good job as the movie’s main hero. Eraser would do a better job as a spy movie like Mission Impossible or a James Bond movie, but it was not advertised as such. It is an action movie. That means it comes with the typical explosions, gun fights, and stunts you expect. The movie does get ridiculous at times with the action sense but it’s all in a good way because Eraser is a serious movie that doesn’t take its self too serious. The one-liners are evident of this. Schwarzenegger is famous for his one-liners and there are some good one in there. Eraser isn’t a classic movie, but it also not a bad movie. The plot is decent, and the acting is really good. So, on a scale of 1-10 I’d say it’s about a 6. If you’re looking to see a great movie this isn’t it but if you’re looking for an entertaining movie I’d recommend Eraser. Just as long as your expectations aren’t too high.