Reading a Claim Critically about Americans - Essay Example

Grounds More than a hundred million Americans have tried marijuana including famous politicians, former and present presidents, businessmen, actors, rock musicians, and so on. 43% of the Americans are of the opinion that marijuana should be legalized while 65% of the individuals think that it will be legalized in the next decade. Backing and support for the marijuana legalization cause has also risen in the past fifteen years from 25% to 46% between 1995 and 2010. Despite such statistics, 850,000 have been arrested as of 2009 on marijuana charges with 88% of the individuals charged for the possession of the drug. Alcohol consumption results in 80,000 deaths while tobacco smoking results in 440,000 deaths each year. According to the British medical journal, The Lancet, marijuana is less threatening as opposed to alcohol and tobacco, and moderate indulgence in the drug may not have many adverse effects on the individual. Evidence has shown that marijuana has medical benefits for easing pain in illnesses such as AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, etc. The author mentions that the American Declaration of Independence proclaims that individuals have “self-evident” and “unalienable right” to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Furthermore, the “war on drugs” campaign cost about $45 billion drawn from the tax payers’ wallets, all of which went vain thereby criminalizing the usage of the drug and marijuana users (Walter, 1-4). Warrants Ethos The writer impactfully employs ethical rhetoric to enhance personal credibility. This is established through the use of personal accounts of his experience with marijuana usage to appeal his readers. He explains how his personal experience of smoking marijuana was pleasurable, although illusory, with no negative effects on health or grades. He goes on to explain the medical benefits of the drug can be realized by considering the case of the author’s brother-in-law who smoked marijuana to relieve him from nauseous symptoms caused by chemotherapy. Logos The author provides several backings or supportive text such as statistics from Rasmussen poll and Gallop poll, references to the British medical journal, The Lancet, extracts from the American Declaration of Independence and references to Jeffrey Miron’s study title, “The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition” (Walter, 4). Pathos The author advocates free choice as laid down in the American Declaration of Independence. Regarding the medical dimension of marijuana usage, the author uses ethical rhetoric to put forth the argument that individuals should be given treatment that eases their pain, implying the legalization of “medical marijuana”. Conclusion The argument is attracting serious discussions and Americans are thinking seriously about the issue. Anti-marijuana usage campaigning has been costing a lot more than it can generate from taxes and sales after legalization. Thus, marijuana should be legalized. The author’s personal experience with marijuana consumption should be dropped as it displays a biased personal account that is likely to be seen as an obsessive marijuana legalization advocacy. The description is a highly opinionated version of the argument that would not effectively make a case for marijuana legalization. Instead, it is likely to distract its readers through its glorification of the drug. Minus this section, the article builds itself up quite seamlessly in order to generate a brilliant thought-provoking argument for marijuana legalization. The claims have powerfully been backed up by grounds and warrants in order to make them convincing and appealing for the readers. Part II. Independent Claims Analysis The document, Cognitive Distraction: Something to Think About, produced by the American Automobile Association summarizes the findings obtained from their study on distracted driving. The document is a collection of claims backed up by credible study sources, most of which have been performed by themselves in order to make a case against the use of digital gadgets, such as cell phones, while driving that deviate the attention of drivers. The document looks at aspects of road safety and makes an argument with the findings of the research that is made. Rhetoric including ethos, logos, and pathos, have been used to strengthen the claim. A significant portion of the document creates a ground for distracted driving by citing statistics and other sources that relate to distracted driving with inattention and road safety. The grounds describe cases of distraction while driving and the risks associated with it along with some statistical analytics. The warrants used work to connect the distracted driving research to connect it with the associated safety risks and other concerns. However, a greater portion of the work includes citations, quotes, and references in order to establish credibility through the use of pathos thereby using rational appeals backed up by sources. The claims put forward in the document apply to the American society where mobile usage is quite a lot and life is relatively fast-paced as opposed to developing countries where distractions through technological gadgets are less likely. Also, since the study is made by the American Automobile Association (AAA), the source is credible enough for the document to be regarded as a useful resource. The claims are mostly backing up the already established claims of distracted driving although it puts forth some newer findings that are infants, in terms of their acceptance and understanding among the public. Some of the findings challenge the prevalent usage of inside-car infotainment systems that seem to be distracting for the drivers as they engage their attention towards audio-visual activities. The claims also speak against some of the established perceptions regarding the use of hands free as an alternative to using fingers and the hands while taking calls on cell phones. The findings say that hands free does not necessarily mean distraction free or essentially risk free thereby calling for attention by law enforcement authorities into taking the necessary steps to ensure safe driving and lesser road accidents (American Automobile Association, 9). The claim contains more pathetical grounds and establishes the claims as such. Perhaps the claim could be better if there were more logical and ethical rhetorics used in order to appeal to the general readers. Also, it could do if some of the grounds were dropped including the ones regarding its measurement so that it is more reader-friendly. Works Cited American Automobile Association. 'Cognitive Distraction: Something To Think About'. N. p., 2013. Web. 20 Jun. 2014. http://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Cognitive-Distraction_AAAFTS-Research-Compendium.pdf Simpson, Walter. 'End Costly And Destructive War On Marijuana Relatively Harmless Drug Should Be Legal'. Why Legalize Marijuana. N. p., 2013. Web. 20 Jun. 2014. Read More