Month: June 2020

Global warming is bad. What global warming is doing is melting polar ice caps and causing the rise of sea levels. Which cause floods and people to lose their lives and their homes. So, how can we prevent global warming? You could, use electric vehicles. Maybe stop using fossil fuels. Stop wasting water and food. Kill less animals. Stop using factories. Lastly, stop using your electronics. Also, plant more trees and plants. Why do we need to stop this global warming? Because global warming is causing droughts, which cause crops to dry up, which also causes world hunger. Also, it is making the polar ice caps melt and make the sea levels rise and people’s houses flood and lives are lost. So, we need to stop global warming.

There was once a dream, a wonderful dream

It was of peace, between different color

The dream was, a black and white school,

A black and white diner, a black and white work

A black and white society, nobody is different,

Nobody is under, nobody is better

But, we all are just one society, human beings

People disagreed, they didn’t want to work

They felt like they weren’t equal, so they strived to have a prequel

But the dream was too big, it was too true

It brought peace, and peace it will always be

“I have a dream…” that black and white could work together,

That black and white could dine together,

That black and white could learn together,

That black and white could play together,

That black and white could accept each other.

So did this dream bring peace?

Peace it gave, prosperity it sought,

And today…

America is great.

(Without all the crimes and corona that is)

(Just forget about the protests because I didn’t want to mention it)

Imagine somebody is accused of a murder, but the suspect does not admit himself as guilty or not guilty. The police try to persuade him into telling saying he has to go to jail and pay fines, but nothing seems to work. The police then proceeds to tell the accused that they will ask his children if he murdered someone, and it is now that the suspect turns himself in. This is just one example of the power of emotion. Love, hope, nostalgia, and friendship are a few of the most persuasive emotions known to mankind, and they can be used to create extremely compelling speeches. Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech was persuasive because he used imagery and also delivered his speech with a powerful voice.

Imagery is a powerful persuasion tool. By applying imagery, the audience will feel more connected to the speaker and also feel emotional. Connecting more to the speaker allows one to truly understand how one feels. This can put the listener inside the speaker’s shoes, which allows one to see the situation on both perspectives. MLK connected to the audience by mentioning how wonderful it would be if children of all colors from all different states could be united. He also emphasized the situation of segregation in each state, which helps connect even more, and explained how much better each state would be if segregation was eliminated. This would also make the audience want to experience such wonders, which in return can persuade the opposing side. Imagery can also induce emotion to the audience, which will persuade them even more. Four of the common persuasive methods one learns in school are Logos, using numbers and statistics. Ethos, building trust and reliability; Kairos, telling them that this “deal” with go away soon; Pathos, using emotion to persuade. Many English teachers would always that Pathos is the most powerful one yet, and MLK uses pathos inside of his I Have a Dream speech. The power of imagery can only be limited by one’s imagination.

Not only did MLK use imagery, he also spoke very powerfully and strategically. MLK spoke with a unique strong vocal inflection and also used repetition. Most speakers do not speak with such a special accent, and if one compares MLK’s I Have a Dream speech to other speeches, there is an obvious difference. His accent, or voice, was unique, confident, hopeful, compelling, and clearly emotional, which are required in persuasion. Additionally, he also spoke louder and emphasized on certain regions, which helped inform the audience these regions were more important. The strategy behind MLK’s voice was to use repetition, or repeating phrases. This can not only tell the audience that the repeated phrase is important, it will also help the phrase get stuck in their heads. MLK repeated the phrase “I Have a Dream” many times during his speech. Usually, a dream symbolizes something that one wishes for. In this case, MLK dreams that people of all colors can unite. Additionally, a dream is also seen as emotional, which add on even more persuasion power. MLK engraved this emotional phrase into the audience’s minds by using repetition. Many restaurants such as McDonalds use repetition in order to make customers remember them. Some uses of repetition are “I’m lovin’ it”, and “Geico, get 15% off on car insurance in just 15 minutes.” Nobody would want to listen to a boring emotion-less talking robot.

MLK’s I Have a Dream speech was extremely powerful because he used imagery and had a compelling voice. Imagery was used to help create a connection with the audience and also induce strong emotional. A powerful voice also is emotional, and repetition can be used to highlight important details. Daniel Goleman, an author, once said that, “In a very real sense we have two minds, one that thinks and one that feels.” Many speakers manage to convince the mind that thinks, but fail to convince the mind that feels. MLK convinced both minds, of millions of individuals living in the most powerful nation.

William Faulkner’s short story Uncle Willy is about a man named Uncle Willy. He is hated around his town and does illegal stuff. Everyone hates him except for a baseball team. He gives them ice cream and is really nice to them. The narrator of the story is one of the baseball players. He look up to Uncle Willy and so does every other player.

The other people in the town did not like his behavior so they took him to this place to make him change his personality. But this did not work. He ran away by plane but did not really know how to fly it so he ended up crashing and dying.

The main theme of this short story is to not judge a book by its cover. The baseball player see Uncle Willy as a super nice guy because he gave them ice cream and stuff. But they were not seeing the the real him. The real Uncle was a really rude and illegal man and that is why the adults tried to change him.

“Don’t forget what happened. Don’t let the next generation forget, either, because another outbreak will surely arrive when it is least expected.” This is what Bruce Bower said in his Science News article on COVID-19. There are always many things happening in the world but after one ends or at least dampens a little, people tend to just forget about it. Whether it’s pandemics, racism, global warming, or other events, we should always be aware of them.

Global warming has been in the world for centuries but many people don’t even care about it. However, it’s still going and getting worse. New technology has led to scientists being able to measure the amount of ice melted in areas such as Greenland and Antarctica. Greenland has 200 gigatons of ice lost each year while Antarctica has 118. Each gigaton is the size of 400,000 Olympic swimming pools. This is so large it’s hard for us to comprehend it.

Another big issue is racism, specifically the one against black people. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. made a speech about how racism is still going on even though America made a no slavery rule in 1863. It’s been 100 years and it still hasn’t been fixed. Now, it’s 2020 so 157 years has passed and it hasn’t been resolved. Currently, there are many attempts going on to end racism against black people, some of which is successful. However, if these protests stop, will it just disappear from people’s minds?

To solve all of these problems, we not only need people to take action, but also people to not forget it. Keep on fighting for the end of global warming and racism!

Climate change is caused by global warming. The earth is hotter and hotter each day, because of global warming, causing climate change. In the article, it says that “Earth’s ice sheets are losing so much mass it’s becoming obvious from space. “

Both the Arctic and Antarctica are melting fast. The polar bears, penguins, seals and other animals are in danger. Researchers said that “Greenland’s ice sheet lost an average of 200 gigatons of ice per year, while Antarctica’s ice sheet lost an average of 118 gigatons per year; for reference, a single gigaton of ice is enough to fill 400,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.” That is a lot.

People should help slow climate change.

In Martin Luther King Junior’s days, they protested by being reasonable.  Nowadays, the so-called “protesters” smash a lot of stores’ windows and steal the products because they said that it is “unfair”.  First of all, how is it unfair?  I mean, just because of some police officers- that are racist- why do they have to be nosy?  They may not know why people act the way they act.  For example, someone may “take”  one’s belongings without asking, but maybe that person said they could take it, only that person forgot about it.  Secondly, Martin Luther King Junior was fighting for a reasonable cause, but some protesters are now using this chance to get free money.  Lastly, these protesters are making a mess of our country, ruining stores, lives, and much more.  Back then, protesters proved their point by speaking strongly to make government officials make a change. Also, Martin Luther King Junior actually proved his point: He and his fellow protesters wanted freedom and an end to discrimination. Now, the actual cause of what the protesters want is inexact.

To conclude, Martin Luther King Junior’s protesting method is a more effective way to protest than the present day protesters’ methods.

Martin Luther King Jr. Gave his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech to make people of all races and skin color equal. However, here we are, 57 years later, and there are many protests about ‘Black lives matter’. Do you think people would do that if all people were equal? There being many protests about ‘Black lives matter’ shows that people would think that not all people are equal, or else they would not think that, because they would already know that all lives matter the same. But they probably don’t think that, because the ‘Black lives matter’ protest is because people think that other people think that their lives don’t matter, which signals that some people think that other people are being racist. I don’t really have an opinion in this matter, but I don’t think people should be judged just by the color or their skin.

I saw a video about a social experiment about the ‘black lives matter’ protest where somebody held up a ‘black lives matter’ sign in a white neighborhood, and the people disagreed, saying ‘all lives matter’, and then he held up a ‘all lives matter’ sign in a black neighborhood, and the people there thought that he was saying that black lives don’t matter. (but he was really saying that ALL lives matter) As I said, I don’t really have an opinion on this matter, but what do you think? Do you think that people still racist about skin color?

Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I have a dream” speech on August 28, 1963 to a crowd at Washington D.C. He dreamed that someday children of all skin colors would play together. That the sons of slaves and the sons of slave owners would be able to sit together and talk. That all places would have freedom and justice. That people would not be judge by their skin color, but by their personality. He wanted justice and peace. For equality. But, after all these years, have we made these changes, or have we stayed the way we were before?

We have only fulfilled one of his dreams, and a few people are still not willing to do the rest. For his first dream, he wanted the sons of slaves and their owners to sit down and chat. But, they have probably passed away by now, and I don’t think that they have ever sat down to talk before. Also, most countries have banned slavery, but there are 10 countries that still allow it. In his second dream, he said that he wanted children of all colors to go hand in and and treat each other like brothers and sisters. I believe that this is the only dream that we have fulfilled. Children, regardless of their skin color, are allowed in school and play together. Children with different skin colors still treat each other the same. His last dream was that all nations would be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I would say that not all places have freedom and justice. Some people still judge others by their skin color and a few places still force people to labor. I don’t think Martin Luther King Jr. would be happy with this generation, but baby steps are still movement, we will get there someday, even if it takes a million years.

I think Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is one of the greatest speeches ever. However, the person (or people) that put together the video doesn’t really make it that comfortable to watch. Here’s why:

First off, let me just say, Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech is pure awesomeness. It’s very motivational and was very, very, important, as you can see from how many people were in the audience. Martin Luther King is a great talker. He put together his speech in a very powerful way and delivered it just as powerfully. For example, towards the end, when he starts his “I have a dream” part of the speech, he purposely pauses each time he says it and gets a really positive and cool feedback from the audience every time. Also, his content is great. Obviously, when he made the speech, the audience could really relate to what he was talking about. He started off with the end of slavery, and how it was “a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity” (1:13). Then he moved on to how years later, the colored people still “[are] still not free” (1:31). He talked about his great vision for the future and how he wished that in the future, “[his] four little children [would] one day live in a nation where they [would] not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (3:13). I believe that a lot of the audience agreed with him, and personally, I think the points throughout his speech were very cool and very reasonable as well.

However, the person (or people) who made this video, “RARE FACTS”, failed to capture the true coolness of the speech. RARE FACTS distracted me over and over again and pulled me away from the actual speech!

For example, right at the start of the video, they show a truly AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, and NECESSARY view of a guy feeding another random person some water in a water bottle. This is literally when Martin begins his speech! This really didn’t motivate me to continue watching the video, because I wanted to see more of the actual Martin Luther King, not a random guy who really needs to drink water! I thought, “If RARE FACTS keeps doing this, I will be very annoyed.” I thought this at the beginning of the video, so I was cranky for the rest of the video. Not a very wise choice by RARE FACTS, if you ask me.

Another example is that RARE FACTS didn’t even bother matching up the audio with the video. It really made me annoyed because I don’t like it when I am staring at someone talking on the screen and what they’re mouthing isn’t even what the audio is playing! It messes with my brain and while I really want to believe the message the video is trying to send to my brain, my ears want to send my brain a different message, which makes me confused, and therefore angry because I don’t like to be confused (It makes me feel dumb, in a way).

And as if THAT wasn’t enough, they FAILED to even match up the words of the speech to the actual either video or audio, whichever one they decided to even choose! So now, there are THREE voices in my head:

1. The one who’s watching the video,
2. The one who’s listening to the audio, and
3. The one who’s looking at the words to the speech!

It’s maddening and I had to just open my closed captioning for the whole video to just watch through the whole thing and not quitting. The closed captioning blocks out the words to the speech that are on the screen, so now I only have two distractions, which is a lot better than three. I was sick of trying to follow along the badly-matched-up pieces of the video and I was literally about to close the tab.

I still managed to get through the rest of the speech, however. I stayed there and did not leave because I thought Martin Luther King’s speech was too good to be ignored… But I still think it would have been a lot better if RARE FACTS decided to put more effort in the making of their videos and actually tried to make the viewer more comfortable and less irritated throughout Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech.