When it comes to terrorist attacks that have been happening all too recent today, people often direct their hatred towards terrorist groups such as ISIS. But then some people start to look for solutions to try and prevent these attacks from happening in their own communities. And post the terrorist attacks in Paris, where a terrorist was smuggled amongst Syrian refugees, some people have come to generalize that the only way to prevent these attacks is to prevent Syrian refugees from entering the country. But in fact this might be one of the conclusion that the terrorist want people to conclude from this attack. On the body of the one of the terrorists there was found a fake passport of a Syrian refugee and many believe that this was purposely placed to turn public opinion against Syrian refugees. The very same refugees entering Europe and America are often the very same civilians who face cruelty and injustice in lands controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. So it is in ISIS’s best interest to try and keep these refugees, as to not undercut the legitimacy of ISIS and their goals. Another factor that those who want to ban refugees seem to not consider is the safeguards already in place. As, Syrian refugees who arrive in the United States face scrutiny from multiple government agencies, including the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Counterterrorism Center and the Defense Department. This screening process can take years, leaving refugees in limbo, and any additional barriers put in place would only help ISIS get what they desire.

Also it seems that many politicians have been using these attacks to scare and inspire hatred in the American people, playing on our insecurities, and they push their banning of refugees as the solution that they can enact to ensure safety. And when this information and the often inaccurate information in the media is implanted in people’s minds, it is very difficult to change their ideas, even with irrefutable facts. Often these people will become extremely defensive when opposing facts and opinions are presented and they will rather harden their own opinion, rather than accept new information. And then they will lose trust in the media and in government and they will purposely seek out only the information that correlates to their own ideas, no matter how inaccurate it might be.

Sources

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/11/16/the-islamic-state-wants-you-to-hate-refugees/

http://www.nytimes.com/live/paris-attacks-live-updates/syrian-passport-reportedly-was-stolen-or-fake/

http://www.newsweek.com/how-isis-smuggles-terrorists-among-syrian-refugees-453039

http://www.wnyc.org/story/on-the-media-2015-11-20/

http://www.wnyc.org/story/breaking-news-consumers-handbook-pdf/

A civic artifact is defined as”…a human-made relic/phenomenon that frames the civic in a rhetorically compelling way.” To me this means that a civic artifact is any symbol or item in society that can be used to show the culture of our society or any society. So for my civil artist I wanted to chose something that not only related to society, but also myself personally so that I could relate better and write more fairly towards it.

One of the artifacts I decided to consider was the logo for Nintendo, the world’s largest video game company by revenue. It is a company that I personally have come to appreciate for it’s high quality games and influence that it has had on society. Because of this influence I believe that it will make a great civic artifact by definition. The gaming franchise as a whole has expanded vastly over the past few decades and gaming has become the most common pastime in teens and young adults. Nintendo is often cited as the company that helped popularized games throughout the world in their heyday. With now iconic names coming out of them such as Mario, Zelda and Pokemon, Nintendo is one of the civic artifacts that I really would like to consider forming a developed speech behind, if appropriate.

Another artifact I also thought about using is the windows logo. As an allegory to the apples logo used as an example in class, I figured the windows logo would also be an appropriate artifact that I would be capable of forming a developed speech and paper about. My own experiences with windows products as well as my interest in the technology company as a whole I believe will assist me in making my speech and paper as informative and interesting as possible.

And one final artifact that I am somewhat considering using is the American flag. The flag itself holds lots of obvious meaning in the makeup of its stars and stripes, but  i also believe that i can form a description of its place in america and society today and talk about the respect to which it is held. And although this is not my first choice for a speech and paper, I can see how it could be informative and interesting to hear about.

I appreciate any helpful advice or criticism that could help me decide on which civil artifact you personally think would form the most interesting speech.