Never Stop Questioning

Never stop questioning. Never assume that what is accepted today will always be set in stone. Never believe in someone else without question. If the brilliant astronomers and philosophers throughout the entirety of human history would have stopped questioning the world’s current beliefs of space, we would still assume that the earth is in the center of our universe, the stars revolve around the earth symbolizing gods, and worst of all, we would be completely unaware of the breathtaking mysteries and wonderous theories of our universe.

Paradigm shifts constantly occur relating to space which change our understanding about the universe and act as a turning point in our understanding of space. Today, new theories relating to our perception of the galaxy are strongly encouraged with hopes that through these theories we will acquire a better understanding of our universe, however, developing new theories has not always been this welcoming throughout human history. The paradigm shift that this blog will focus on is humanity’s shift in belief from the geocentric theory or earth being in the center of our galaxy to the heliocentric theory or the earth revolves around the sun. It required a large amount of sacrifice and confidence and which occurred over a span of thousands of years and drastically changed the way humanity views space as well as the ways in which we accept scientific theories which question our current understandings of the universe.

As previously mentioned, the paradigm shift relating humanity’s change of belief from the geocentric theory to the heliocentric theory spanned over thousands of years and required a large amount of sacrifice. The first monumental philosopher that influenced how humanity perceives not just the universe, but all theories of life in general was the Greek philosopher Socrates.

Socrates encouraged the Greek society to question all current beliefs and wanted to promote change to the way humanity perceived the current government and the environment around them. Unfortunately, Socrates was charged with impiety and corruption of the youth. He was executed for his beliefs by being forced to consume a vile of hemlock. The sacrifice of Socrates inspired future astronomers and philosophers to continue questioning humanity’s views on the universe and was the starting point to the paradigm shift of humanity’s views from the geocentric theory to the heliocentric theory.

The first astronomer to go against the world’s current belief of the geocentric theory was Nicolaus Copernicus. He confidently believed in the heliocentric theory and had evidence to prove his claims form his analysis of the planets and stars and their orbits in space. Despite his evidence, the Roman Church strongly enforced the heliocentric theory, and feared that taking away the belief that the heavenly body of earth was not at the center of the galaxy would take power away from the church. Copernicus was shunned by the Roman Empire and died before any of his ideas were accepted.

The turning point in the geocentric to heliocentric paradigm shift occurred in the time of Galileo Galilei, an Italian astronomer and philosopher who strongly believed in Copernicus’s heliocentric theory. At this point in history, Galileo’s mathematical evidence supporting the heliocentric theory was accepted by other astronomers and physicists and became the official turning point in humanity’s view from geocentric to heliocentric, as well as the way we accept new theories which go against our current beliefs.

Throughout all of human history, we have looked up toward the sky and wondered what mysteries the great unknowns of space have yet to reveal. The paradigm shift relating to humanity’s shift from the geocentric theory to the heliocentric theory not only changed the way we perceive the universe, but influenced our acceptance to new theories that challenge those currently known to us. Never stop questioning.

Childishness within The Proud Boys

Prior to taking CAS, I had nothing to do with politics unless they involved space or matters which interested me such as the latest box office hits, or video game reviews. Coming into CAS class, one of my main goals was to become more politically involved. As of now, I will confidently state that I do not disagree, nor do I agree with many matters involving politics simply because I lack experience in analyzing and discussing the matter.

Proclaiming my opinion on The Proud Boys and their beliefs will be a large stepping stone of mine in terms of politics and stating my individual opinion, and I am rather excited to dive deep into my inner thoughts involving the topics.

When learning and reading about the proud boys, I really took it upon myself to analyze why members decided to both develop and join the movement. I attempted to analyze the group and its members’ hidden motives by analyzing the group’s three degrees that must be completed if one is to become a true proud boy.

While analyzing the three degrees, I decided to group the first and third degrees together. This is due to the fact that both degrees are carried out to influence dedicated members to proclaim they are an official proud boy. I believe this tactic is done not to truly test a member’s loyalty to the Proud Boy group, but to advertise in public. With the first degree involving dedicated members to publicly announce their loyalty to the Proud Boys while claiming their viewpoint is the only proper and just view and the third degree involving a tattoo with the words “Proud Boy”, I truly believe these two degrees were solely made for publicity.

Analyzing the first and third degree really drew my attention to something my mom would often say to me when I was younger. She would state, “If you want to prove to me that you’re serious about something, show me through your silent actions not your words.” I believe this quote portrays that the Proud Boys embody a sense of childishness when blatantly proclaiming to the public who they are.

Yes, The Proud Boys need to grow in size if they want their movement to be successful, but this could be done through silent actions such as hosting information sessions or spreading out posters which commercialize their idea. This should not be done through violence, forced tattoos, or forcing members to proclaim their view as the only one that is just. To me this tactic reveals The Proud Boy’s childish nature that may potentially stem from previous events in their lives.

While analyzing the second degree, I was truly interested on the statement #nowanks, and personally felt like this degree has more meaning behind it than is stated. This goal is often said to have helped members acquire more women or do better in their personal relationship. I also find it interesting that The Proud Boys venerate the house wife. This gives more power to the man in a relationship and allows the men in relationships to call the shots. In my opinion, it would be interesting to see how many members of The Proud Boys have had relationship issues in the past or have struggled to find a girl. Would many members join The Proud Boys for their claim of getting more women?

I personally do not support The Proud Boy movement and feel that the group is extremely childish in its approach to recruitment, and I do believe a portion of the members have struggled in their previous romantic lives and join Proud Boys in hopes of improving this aspect of their lives. I believe analyzing the rhetoric of The Proud Boys movement is extremely important because the group is influencing the world to truly state their opinions on Western views. The Proud Boy movement has proved to be extremely controversial and may have even paved the way for how future organizations will be managed in the future.

His whole life was a million-to-one shot

Everyone has a source of inspiration. Everyone has felt a strong passion and loyalty towards a specific role model, quote, poster, or even statue. This inspiration may not come directly from the object but can be formed from the circumstances in which the person viewed the object. Everyone has at one point in their life confronted an inspiring object which brings forth a burning desire to strive and reach one’s goals. For myself as well as many others, this inspiring object is the riches to rags movie, Rocky.

Rocky first impacted my life when I was in middle school. Staying home from school with a cold, fate had me watch the first rocky movie with a runny nose and a sore throat. While watching the movie, I was drawn towards the fact that someone so low in society could rise above the barriers that held him back. I was inspired by the antagonist’s drive, and I longed to climb the totem pole of success just like Rocky Balboa had done.

Nearly five years after I first watched Rocky, I am still strongly inspired by the movie, and feel that my strong determination and drive is drawn from the motivation I gained from the movie. Keeping a Rocky poster in my college dorm with the quote “His whole life was a million-to-one shot” inspires me every day to go to class, study for an exam, write a stellar essay, and just be the best person I can be while aiming to climb the ladder of success.

Rocky not only inspires me but impacts the lives of millions of others as well. The Rocky steps and statue outside of the Museum of art in Philadelphia constantly remind people that through hard work and determination they have the possibility to overcome any obstacles they face in life. Personally travelling to the Rocky memorial steps, I witnessed the groups of people that come, run up the steps, raise up their hands after reaching the top with a big smile, and feel as if they have surmounted the world.

The Rocky Run, a 13.1-mile race that takes runners through Rocky’s running path he took during the movie annually draws in a large number of runners every year. This event which is themed around the movies capitalizes on their inspiration throughout the event by playing nostalgic rocky music and encouraging the runners and bystanders to strive to be active throughout the event.

“It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you get hit and keep moving forward.” This famous quote is just one of many derived from the inspiring movie Rocky. The reason this rhetorical analysis of Rocky is so important is because although many people don’t often view the movie genre as being influential, Rocky proves movies can be truly inspiring as it continues to impact the world today.

Pokémon Go’s Opportune Moment

Pokémon Go, the breakthrough application that took the world by storm. Two summers ago, nearly everyone who owned a phone was playing Pokémon Go, businesses displayed ads on their windows saying they had access to a Pokéstop, and wherever you saw a large crowd of people… there was definitely a rare Pokémon.

So why was Pokémon Go such a successful game? Out of the millions of other Apps, how was it a children’s game that would drastically impact the world? I’m here to tell you that Pokémon Go was so successful because it capitalized on the current wants, needs, and interests in the world. It successfully exploited its opportune moment.

Now this raises a few additional questions. You may be wondering how Pokémon Go exploited its opportune moment, or what would have happened if Pokémon Go’s app was released a few years earlier or later. Would the result still have been as successful? I will eventually answer these questions, but first I would like to provide you with a statement.

In todays society, there are three things that people want. They want to exercise and stay healthy, they want money (who doesn’t), and most importantly, people want time.

Pokémon Go utilized the world’s current interests and built their app through these three wants. With society recently wanting to stay healthy but constantly looking down at their phones, what better way to capitalize on this want than to bring a fun and interactive game with a completely new concept to the smart phone app store? Pokémon Go hit this want right on the dot. I personally remember walking around with friends to catch Pokémon in the summer as well as biking with my family to meet the required distance to hatch a Pokémon egg.

The second want that Pokémon Go utilized was society’s want of money. By releasing Pokéstops in the game and placing them at businesses, amusement parks, and highly populated areas, a large amount of income from Pokémon Go was generated. Businesses posted signs on their windows displaying their Pokéstop to increase costumers while amusement parks and cities both drew many customers in just to catch the rare Pokémon located inside. Two summers ago me and my high school friend (now my college roommate) went to an amusement park to specifically designate half of our time to catching new Pokémon while visiting Pokéstops.

The final and most important want of society that Pokémon Go capitalized on was time. With an extremely fast and continuously moving society, the way people spend their time nowadays is extremely valuable. Not many people want to continuously play a game all day while sitting on the coach unable to complete any worth-while tasks. Pokémon go realized this and dedicating themselves to making a game that could be played on the go. Just think about the amount of people that used to play Pokémon Go while walking or taking the bus to work.

After tying in the current interests of society to Pokémon Go’s success, it is easy to analyze why Pokémon Go was a massive success during the time that it came out. Without a doubt, Pokémon Go successfully responded to its opportune moment.

Rhetoric vs. Action

“Rhetoric is a poor substitute for action, and we have trusted only to rhetoric. If we are really to be a great nation, we must not merely talk; we must act big.” -Theodore Roosevelt

To justify my reason for opening my first blog with this bold and confident quote, I am not saying I completely agree with the statement. In fact, there are multiple ways in which I disagree with this quote. For instance, another rather audacious statement that has kept me pondering is a quote taken from Lloyd F. Bitzer which states, “A work of rhetoric is pragmatic…”.

So how can this be? One statement suggests that rhetoric does not produce any outcome or action, while the other claims that rhetoric functions to ultimately produce change in the world. How can two noteworthy, yet completely opposing statements exist without one being deemed false? Perhaps we have yet to determine that answer, perhaps we shall never determine that answer, or perhaps they both prove to be accurate depending on how we look at each situation.

Let’s analyze the rhetorical situation of Rosa Parks and her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

On December 1, 1955, Parks refused to obey a bus driver’s orders to give up her seat in the “colored section” to a white passenger. Parks was quickly arrested for civil disobedience in violating Alabama segregation laws, however, Parks’ prominence in the community and her willingness to become a controversial figure inspired the black community to boycott the Montgomery buses for over a year, and Parks was later deemed, “the mother of the freedom movement.”

The question now arises, which statement holds true in this rhetorical situation. Parks utilizes rhetoric to take a stand for her beliefs, which in turn causes change in the world to ignite the Civil Rights movement. This proves that Lloyd F. Bitzer’s view towards rhetoric stands true, right?

The answer depends on how you view the rhetorical circumstance. My question that I will pose is concerning Park’s use of rhetoric prior to her recognition. Was Park defending her right to remain in the seat still labeled as rhetoric before her resistance influenced a movement? If not rhetoric, was Park’s resistance simply persuasion prior to its monumental impact? Is it still considered persuasion after the impact is established?

Another point of view to look at the situation is the fact that Parks was swiftly arrested after taking her stand. Does this imply that those who arrested Parks support Roosevelt’s case by taking action rather than applying rhetoric throughout the situation?

Although I do not carry much of an opinion on this rhetorical situation, I am extremely intrigued by the multiple questions this rhetorical situation helped me develop. I can only hope that these questions concerning the Rosa Park’s situation will influence my CAS class’s rhetorical discussion in future events.