Image by MacRumors

It obviously shown through national studies that the attitudes of teens and their use of technology has incurred a drastic shift in their behavior and can be linked to the advent of smart phones. I think that it is clear that a paradigm shift has occurred in the way teens communicate, interact, and socialize with one another. There is a plethora of evidence that one can observe in the article and it would be difficult to argue that, on average, the attitude towards social activities hasn’t changed drastically since our parent were kids.

A paradigm shift is defined as a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions. This is clearly such case. As the article stated, kids don’t behave in the same manner as kids of the previous generation did. They are more likely to feel lonely, and less likely to go on dates, to parties, or even get their driver’s license. This clear shift in attitude from previous generations preceded by the advent of the smart phone constitute a paradigm shift in teens attitudes.

Now this being said, I believe the scope of this shift this may be more location based. Take me for example. I grew up in a very rural area; I graduated with 82 kids from a public school. I didn’t see such a widespread and as drastic of a shift from traditional behavior practiced by our parents as the charts and national polls show. When my dad was a kid, he got his driver’s license the first day he could, my parents hung out with their friends on weekends and played sports or worked during the week. When my dad wanted to hang out with his friends they went camping, hunting, fishing, or drove their dirt bikes, or later cars to each other’s houses. As a member of the generation that the article talks about, I don’t think that I, or most of my friends really fit the mold the article describes. Everyone I knew had their learners permit the day they turned sixteen and had their drivers’ license as soon as they could. When my friends and I got together we didn’t just sit on our iPhones inside, we went out and did stuff. We all played sports, we went hunting together, when nothing was in season, we went fishing. We used to go camping when it was possible to sleep outside. Our favorite place to go didn’t even have cell service. Every now and then and, if someone had to call their parents or talk to their girlfriend, they had to walk almost a mile to get even two bars of 4G. We were always together and when we were, almost no one was on their phone, unless it was to change the song we were listening to. When we got bored, we got together and did stuff outside. Last year we built a log cabin in the woods near one of my friend’s house.

Overall, you can’t argue with the data included within the article, but I would say that the effects of this shift depend a lot upon where you live and what you and your friends like to do together. Although, one obviously has to go with the data and the data is clear, the rise of the smart phone clearly led to a paradigm shift in the youth of this countries attitudes towards their social life and mental health.

Image by Carol M. Highsmith

The World War Two monument was under construction between 2001 and 2004. It was unveiled to the public on April 29, 2004 and had its dedication one month later, on May 29. It was designed by Friedrich St.Florian and was meant to pay tribute to all those that died during the course of the war (Murray).

The memorial is meant to show us the price of victory and freedom, and that the unity of the country during this time was paramount in the U.S. wining the war. I think that I am drawn to this civic artifact due to the fact that I was always interested in American history and the concept of national unity, something that is rather uncommon to find today. This artifact is an apt comparison for the Minuet Man statue in Concord because they both reflect unity and patriotism. They both show that brave Americans went and fought and died for our freedom as a nation. I think that soldiers, especially the ones that made the ultimate sacrifice, deserve to be honored and remembered. There are many aspects of this memorial that can analyzed into how they relate to the civic providing more than enough material to cover in a comparison to the Minuet Man statue.

Some of the more intriguing aspects of this memorial are the gold stars on the “Freedom Wall” at the west end of the memorial. there are 4000 golden stars on this wall, each signifying 100 American lives lost in the war. There were a total of 400,000 Americans killed during the course of WWII. Another interesting aspect of the memorial is the bronze braided rope that runs between all 56 granite pillars surrounding the memorial. Each pillar represents a U.S. state or territory and D.C. involved in the war effort. The bronze rope signifies the unity binding all of America together during this time (Murray).

Involved within in this monument are several rhetorical devices. One obvious such use is the use of enthymemes. While it is know the the monument is meant to memorialize WWII, one must have prior knowledge to understand some of the smaller parts of the monument. The rope for example, I know what it means because I have done research on the monument but the average passerby may not without prior knowledge. Another such example is that of the golden stars, or that of the 24 bas-reliefs along the edges half on the north and half on the south represent the war in Europe and the war in the Pacific. It also relies on pathos to convey it message. With no feeling of loss at the death of so many, and pride in the fact that so many volunteered to defend our nation, the whole notion of the stars and the rope would be lost. There would be no point in remembering something as tragic as WWII if there was no emotion shown on the home front. It also hints at ethos. While there is no fact check at the plaques recalling the victories of American forces, a simple google search can confirm what they say, and with knowledge so readily available and it being in such a public and high profile place, it would be impossible to lie about something, as someone would have caught such a fault right away and it would have been national news.

In using the WWII monument as my comparison to the Minuet Man statue, I have provided my self with an extraordinary amount of material to offer as similarities and explain how they both memorialize brave Americans who answered the call to duty and paid the ultimate price for their country and those that reside within her borders.

Murray, Lorraine. “National World War II Memorial.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2011, www.britannica.com/topic/National-World-War-II-Memorial.

The Sticker Shoppe

This bumper sticker is eight words long, yet through its use of rethorical devices, we already know the meaning and the beliefs that the person driving this car hold. While one my not agree with the message that is being displayed, they would know what it is saying.

This particular bumper sticker contains a very pro-military message and portrays this message both through the words and the choice of colors. The message, “Land of the Free because of the Brave” is reminiscent of our national anthem. In the national anthem it say’s in the last line, “O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.” This message also implies that without our military we would not be free, and that, objectively speaking would be true. Without a military it is possible and very plausible, that we would still be an English colony. It is also true that, had we not had such brave and strong military, the allies would have lost WW1. We also could have been taken over by the Axis Powers in WW2 without the brave soldiers that stormed the beaches of Normandy and broke the Nazi strangle hold on France.

This bumper sticker appeals to the commonplace of every American who has ever heard the national anthem, which one could assume to be the vast majority. This is a clear message about being thankful for the sacrifices so many have made for our freedom as a nation. The ideology of many people across the nation is that without our military, we would not be free and freedom is very important to most everyone in the United States, no matter your stance on political issues.

It is very effective in portraying the message that we should be thankful and appreciative of out troops, the brave as they are refered to in this bumper sticker. It, in short, shows support for our military and presents the the idea that we would be unfree without them as fact. While not able to definitively prove this claim, we do have one of the strongest militaries in the world and, since we have never been concurred because of them, it is safe to assume that without these brave individuals willing to lay down their lives for our freedom, we would be living under the tyrannical yoke of another nation.

Image by Kevin Cox

Kairos is a greek word meaning “a propitious moment for decision or action” It translates literally to “opportunity”. Kairos is important in advertising because when a topic is at the forefront of peoples minds and they see this topic within an ad, it resonates with them immediately. The need for kairos in political ads cannot be understated. If the topic that is being displayed or how the topic is being displayed in the ad isn’t relevant to what is happening today, many people who see these ads will not think that they are important and will switch the channel, scroll past it in their feed, or click the skip ad button on Youtube. Kairos is incredibly important in todays political atmosphere because people have an increasingly short attention span.