Change is good

This blog post was probably the hardest one for me so far. I had trouble understanding how to forward something that I have already written. Because of this I looked for one of my blog post that I no longer agreed with. I did nor agree with what I said about the unit 1 post about Hedges, Carr, Scribner and Thomson’s writing. I chose a paragraph to counter.

The first paragraph of the post reads:

            “Hedges and Carr present the negative literary statistics that are omnipresent in our society. They spend time focusing on the negative, blurting out random and un-cited evidence. Speculation and antidotal evidence is used in both Hedges and Carr’s articles without using literary techniques of analysis. These two articles are just plan annoying and not well written in the opinion of a 13^th grade student. Hedges and Carr don’t spend time in their texts discussing literacy they simply present their one-sided opinion without delving into the multiple perspectives of what literacy actually is and how it can be defined in many different ways.”

Response via countering:

            Yes, Hedges and Carr do “spend time focusing of the negative” but have you ever taken a step back and realized that all this negativity may be true? Hedges and Carr do seem to be critical of the literacy level in the US but their opinion as valid. Just take a look at the last presidential debate and you will realizes that even the most intellectual people in our country have to speak at a middle school level just to be understood by the general public. Our candidates have to use short catchy phases to keep Americans engaged. Ever hear “yes we can” or “change.” America is stupid, or at least more stupid then we used to be.

            You argue that using “antidotal evidence” is bad. I think you are referring to when Carr explains how he can no longer stay concentrated for long periods of time. You argue that this is a poor way to argue a point. Yet, I want you to take a step back and think about the last time you read a book, cover to cover, that was not for school. Think about it. Just because Carr uses antidotal evidence doesn’t mean it is not an appropriate use of evidence in the essay. He is obviously using it to invoke emotion within the reader. To shut him down because of this must stem from the denial of the truth behind the statement.