Analysis Of Drug Testing By Vanita Gupta

Gupta discusses the history, law, statistics, and personal effects of mandated drug testing in order to make a well-rounded argument. Gupta also uses an appeal to the emotion of human dignity and privacy in her argument as she repeatedly claims that mandated drug testing is a violation of personal privacy and degrades human dignity. Regarding the use of particular language within these arguments, Rector uses specific phrases to promote the idea that welfare members chose the life that they live. Rector specifically describes welfare members as, “able-bodied adults” and as “self-sufficient”, leaving room for a wide range of difference to be ignored. Rector also claims that drug use can be the sole reason why individuals are on welfare in the first place. Implying that because, “the choice was theirs”, for doing drugs, that alone makes them less of a person, and therefore less responsible. Therefore, the argument describes “poor people” as those that cannot already take care of themselves, and makes choices that hinder their ability …show more content…
News & World Report). Gupta’s terms are less strict in producing the stereotype of those on welfare. Gupta chooses words that provide more freedom when describing welfare recipients. Therefore, Gupta seems to work to align welfare members more closely with any other American. Poverty is also not described as a culture, it is described as people being in a situation where they need help, and should, therefore, receive that help. Henceforth, the author does not focus particularly on the opposing view, but she does present evidence from the opposing side to show how it did not work. I believe that the author chose not to write on the opposing view because she believes that this issue is an issue of humanity and dignity, which is typically something that most people can agree