Are Wiki Sources Legit? (Short Assignment #4)

I chose to analyze the Jeff Kimball House, because I was genuinely interested to know why this historic farmhouse is not even a house on a farm; local farmers would buy houses in town to be closer instead of living on their actual farmland.  The article is extremely short, which seems sketchy to me, because there is not a lot of information, just a few brief facts, and not much context to support the facts.  Although I don't think the facts are made-up or unreliable.  There were four sources.  Two were links which I clicked on and found to be reliable, established web sites on historical sites.  The other two sources were books, a dictionary and national register of historical houses, which seem legitimate, so I am just a tad bit unsure of their credibility, because I don't have the available means of retrieving the books.  There were not very many facts to check, but the ones referenced I confirmed, except for the book-referenced ones.

Perfect Timing

In Killingsworth's "Appeals to Time," I found the concept of time being tremendously important to rhetoric so interesting.  It was somewhat of an enlightening but "duh" moment for me.  Killingsworth explains time's importance to both classical rhetoric and modern rhetoric.  Of classical rhetoric, he states "forensic speeches narrate past events with a view to influencing present decisions and judgements; epideictic speeches focus on an event or occasion in the present time; deliberative speeches propose future actions based on current trends."  Of modern rhetoric, he states "reports narrate the past; instructions deal with actions in the present time of the reader; proposals make arguments for future actions."  He then even expands upon the rhetorical keywords of kairos and exigence.  Time plays an important role in these two.  Kairos is all about the perfet timing to deliver your argument and the exigence of the situation is what drives your argument, which is driven by time.  Is it urgent?  Is it something that can be solved in the near future?  The answer to this question will result in which genre of speech you are going to utilize.

I actually just dealt with this myself.  A behavior of a certain friend of mine has been bothering me, but because it wasn't that serious, I've been putting off talking to her about it; I hadn't felt the urgency to put forth my argument with her.  But today, something she did really set me off, but because a group of us were about to hang out, it wasn't the right timing to present my argument to her.  Once I did present my argument, I made references to past events in the hopes that future events would not happen.

After reading Killingsworth, I realized how important timing really is, not just in rhetorical arguments but in every day life (where we actually deal with rhetoric on a daily basis, even within ourselves, and don't notice it).

What Do You Believe, Think, Value?

Recently, actually two days ago, my two roommates and I got into an argument with our third roommate about why her brother and six other friends could not stay in our small apartment.  It began with her asking us if her brother and two or three friends could stay with us for the weekend which was fine, but then she proceeded to tell us, not ask us, that it would be seven of them.  We calmly tried to discuss this with her and explain to her that this is a group decision, and that it was three people, who were not comfortable with seven strangers staying in their home, against one.  She somehow did not understand this.  I believe this was a conflict on Kaufer's level 4, "hold conflicting local values."  She claimed that they had no where else to stay and if they didn't come, it was going to affect her well-being in her sorority.  My three roommates and I, the "God damn independents" that we are, were not really too concerned with that fact, and argued that if it was that important to her, they would find different arrangements for the other half of the guests.  She claimed we were being selfish, and if the situation was the other way around, she would do it for us.  We claimed she's just upset because she's not getting her way, and that we would never expect something like this to be okay with her if it was the other way around. In the end, we told her it wasn't happening, because it was three values against one different value.

In "The Disappearing Republicans" from The New Yorker, it is obvious that the author is a liberal, or at least anti-Republican.  I believe it poses both a "simulation" and real "ethical deliberation."  Defeated Republicans not maintaining such a dominant political persona is true in some Republicans, but some in not.  But his biased opinions about all Democrats remaining on the scene would portray the simulation, instead of unbiased fact.

I think the different politicians he names act as "value" terms and ideographs.  Ronald Reagan represents good fortune and economical progress, Barack Obama represents change and progression, and so on. When discussing politics, especially successful presidents, an audience pairs a value with that president from something he accomplished during his presidency.

Almost There (Short Assignment #3 Analysis)

For my short assignment #3, I chose to edit "The Top 10 Reasons Students Cannot Rely on or Cite Wikipedia" by Mark Moran.  If you noticed, I began editing by rewording, rearranging, and repositioning the title.  This article had a very a clear argument that Wikipedia is not a reliable source by simply listing and numbering reasons.  I edited many different components of the piece from grammar, wording, arrangement, tone, etc.  Most of the piece is written in a very casual tone, sometimes too casual, and at one point used very eloquent vocabulary that just completely threw me off, which I immediately reworded.  Also the first two reasons given were written in the second-person voice, which I immediately reworded.  Before the piece was edited, Moran's errors were conflicting with 2 things: his stases levels and his argument.

In the article, each reason is written the same way concerning order of stases levels.  It starts 
with Fact and Definition which then leads into Cause.  All 10 reasons put together form the Value.  I think the over-all purpose of this article was to achieve a stases level of Policy (what should be done), but unfortunately it doesn't.  He lists all these problems and reasons why Wikipedia is so unreliable, but then doesn't post a solution, except that it can be used as a reference if used properly, but doesn't go into enough depth on that.

When I got to the end of the list, I found tow, possibly three, reasons listed which actually didn't support his argument at all.  I believe this would align with Kaufer's 1st conflict: "misunderstand the sense or reference of certain statements."  They were interesting and well develped statements, but they didn't necessarily support his argument, and one was even the complete antithesis of his argument.

Thankfully i did find the punctuation to be mostly correct.  He did need a little help with the fluid movement of the text, but fortunately when simply listing reasons of something, sometimes it's not completely necessary for one reason to flow right into the next.

Smart Growth > Sprawl

               As the earth’s population continues to grow, so does the need for housing, which stirs up new ideas and innovations.  In the United States in 1993, a specified Congress was founded for New Urbanism, a neighborhood development that embodies the traditional “suburban sprawl model,” subdivisons, shopping centers, paved roads, etc., which claims to conserve the environment.  Unfortunately this development is merging into agricultural areas, putting our natural resources and farmland at risk.  The solution to this is New Ruralism and the two movements within in it: smart growth and sustainable agriculture (Stratton).

               Smart growth is a movement in which cities are organized around small neighborhoods, instead of the sprawl of New Urbanism.  By compacting cities and neighborhoods, we can preserve and enhance the environment.  According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the ten basic principles of smart growth are as follows:

1. “Mix land uses”
2. “Take advantage of compact building design”
3. “Create a range of housing opportunities and choices”
4. “Create walkable neighborhoods”
5. “Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place”
6. “Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas”
7. “Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities”
8. “Provide a variety of transportation choices”
9. “Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost effective”
10. “Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions”

Not only are these principles, but they are simply advantages New Ruralism has over New Urbanism.  A prime and ironic example of smart growth is New York City, New York.  Although this city “generates [the most] greenhouse gases, uses [the most] energy, and produces [the most]… waste” more than any other city in America, it actually is one of the most environmentally conservative cities when how many people that live there are taken into account.  This is due to the city’s compression; because everyone and everything is so compacted together, “New Yorkers… drive, pollute, consume, and throw away much less than the surrounding suburbs” (Heitman).  Of course, New York City doesn’t pay much attention to agriculture.

Sustainable agriculture is a trend in which food is developed to encourage “environmental health and socio-economic equality” (Stratton).  According to GRACE Communications Foundation, the primary benefits of sustainable agriculture are “environmental preservation, protection of public health, sustaining vibrant communities, and upholding animal welfare.”  Forward, a new agricultural market and movement in Canada, hopes to succeed by making Canada a world leader in “agricultural, nutritional, health, energy, and environmental” issues by creating new products and solutions.  For example, in order to preserve the environment, new techniques, such as crop rotation, can be used instead of lethal chemical fertilizers.  Thus, this simply results in the protection of public and animal health, because hazardous fertilizers and pesticides are avoided and replaced with these new products and techniques. 

Thankfully there is a city that has combined smart growth and sustainable agriculture, thriving as a New Ruralistic community.  During my adolescent years, I had the pleasure of growing up in South Georgia, near Serenbe, a New Ruralistic community in South Fulton County.   Strangely, a friend of mine moved to Serenbe at the same time my mom began a job there in the winery and restaurant; I was utterly confused that you could live and work in the same place, but it wasn’t a town.  I now know it is because it was a sustainable community.  It includes pastures, farms, retail shops, homes, restaurants, its own wastewater treatment plant and much more into a small, but large enough area that it forms its own community (think Stepford but less creepy!)  Like New York City, Serenbe has walkways all throughout its 900-acres, so walking is more efficient than driving.  The most important factor of Serenbe, and why it thrives as a New Ruralistic community, is “the surrounding area is dedicated to preservation” (Stratton).

It is strange to me that New Urbanism claims to be conservative of the natural environment as it encroaches upon our already agricultural and naturally environmental areas.  With all the hype about global warming these days, you’d think New Ruralism would be the obvious choice over New Urbanism.  The two key components to New Ruralism, smart growth and sustainable agriculture, directly and positively affect the envrironment.  Serenbe, an exceptional example of New Ruralism, is thriving tremendously.  It would be a slow transition from sprawl to smart growth, but it is one that should and needs to happen.

Works Cited

GRACE Communications Foundation. "Sustainable Agriculture- The Basics GRACE Communications Foundation." Gracelinks.org. GRACE Communications Foundation, 2013. Web. 06 Feb. 2013.

Fixter, Kristina. "Canada’s Plant Science Industry Supports Growing Forward the Federal, Provincial, Territorial Governments’ New Vision for Agriculture." CropLife.ca. CropLife Canada, 03 July 2007. Web. 06 Feb. 2013.

Heitman, Danny. "Green Metropolis." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Sept. 2009. Web. 06 Feb. 2013.

 Stratton, Emily M. "New Ruralism." University of Georgia Land Use Clinic (2009): n. pag. University of Georgia School of Law and School of Ecology, Fall 2009. Web. 2 Feb. 2013.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. "About Smart Growth." Epa.gov. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 28 June 2006. Web. 06 Feb. 2013.