I’ve been trying to convince my friend to start donating blood for a while now. He’s a young, healthy man, with no anemia or other conditions preventing him from donating. I’ve told him this as part of my logos; he’s a prime candidate, and it’s quite unlikely donating will harm him. I also used my ethos as an experienced donor to assure him centers for giving blood are clean and safe, and that I’ve never incurred negative side-effects from donating. When he was still was unsure, I went for an emotional appeal: one donation can save up to three lives, and hospitals are constantly running low on transfusions. Less than one third of the population is eligible to donate, so as one of the few who can, I argued that it was his responsibility to give blood and help his community stay healthy.
Ultimately, I was unsuccessful in my persuasion, and I believe this is because of the context my friend had on the topic before I ever spoke to him about it. His mother had told him that the drives I went to were not clean or safe, which prevented him from even considering donating for several years. I’m also much more familiar with the positive impact community service can make–on both the community and the volunteer–than my friend is. I’ve been consistently involved in Girl Scouts and other youth service organizations since I was six; whereas he had only been in Boy Scouts until 7th grade. Lastly, my friend is afraid of needles, and so he likely imagines that giving blood would be an unpleasant experience. I look forward to one day proving him wrong.
Something similar happened to me when two friends were trying to convince me to become a vegan. Though I agreed with most of their arguments–that the vegan lifestyle is healthier, better for the environment, and more humane towards animals–the context I held ultimately made me turn down their suggestions. I come from a very Italian family, and I like to eat. Going vegan would drastically reduce my palette options, which, unfortunately, I’m just not excited about. Furthermore, food and family are very important in my culture–especially together. I want to be able to sit down to a meal with them and just enjoy their company, rather than stress over the ingredients of the sauce my mother cooked that evening.
Tags: ancient rhetoric, bardhan, rcl