One of the hottest topics that has been widely discussed lately is the “drug war”. A regular columnist and professor of economics at Samford University, Art Carden argues in his article Forbes, “Let’s Be Blunt: It’s Time to End the Drug War” for the end of the drug prohibition. The purpose of the article is to persuade the readers that the war on drugs has been a costly failure, causing unintended negative economic consequences. Overall, Carden’s argument is convincing because he offers a strong, clear thesis with persuasive logical evidences as supports.
Carden first recognizes how Drug War is affecting many neighborhoods and people across this nation and the world. Therefore, he begins his essay in a confidently assertive fashion by directly …show more content…
A major example that indicates his effective use of logos is when he refers to how newspapers talk about kingpins being captured, how many drugs were seized or how many people died. At first it seems as if he is making a pathos appeal because of the sensitivity of the topics, but then he segues straight back into logic saying “Apparently we’re to take from this the idea that we’re going to ‘win’ the war on drugs…Apple didn’t disappear after Steve Jobs died. Getting ‘Mr. Big’ won’t win the drug war…economist and drug policy expert Jeffrey Miron estimates that we would have a lot less violence without a war on drugs”(43). He’s referring to ending violence and death with a logical solution, which makes the example influential to the audience. The fact that there are so many logical explanations involved, leaving the audience an impression on how knowledgeable Carden is. It is very rare to see a journalist use as many cited reasons and detailed explanation to validate his points.
In conclusion, Art Carden’s argument is overall convincing by providing strongly logical evidence to support his clear thesis. Furthermore, the war on drugs is a valuable and interesting topic that seems hardly to have enough recognition. Therefore the articles presented about it should be written rhetorically to perfection to encourage readers to notice and pay
Carden first recognizes how Drug War is affecting many neighborhoods and people across this nation and the world. Therefore, he begins his essay in a confidently assertive fashion by directly …show more content…
A major example that indicates his effective use of logos is when he refers to how newspapers talk about kingpins being captured, how many drugs were seized or how many people died. At first it seems as if he is making a pathos appeal because of the sensitivity of the topics, but then he segues straight back into logic saying “Apparently we’re to take from this the idea that we’re going to ‘win’ the war on drugs…Apple didn’t disappear after Steve Jobs died. Getting ‘Mr. Big’ won’t win the drug war…economist and drug policy expert Jeffrey Miron estimates that we would have a lot less violence without a war on drugs”(43). He’s referring to ending violence and death with a logical solution, which makes the example influential to the audience. The fact that there are so many logical explanations involved, leaving the audience an impression on how knowledgeable Carden is. It is very rare to see a journalist use as many cited reasons and detailed explanation to validate his points.
In conclusion, Art Carden’s argument is overall convincing by providing strongly logical evidence to support his clear thesis. Furthermore, the war on drugs is a valuable and interesting topic that seems hardly to have enough recognition. Therefore the articles presented about it should be written rhetorically to perfection to encourage readers to notice and pay