Rhetorical Analysis: Danger Of A Dominant Identity

Danger Of a Dominant Identity Rhetorical Analysis Essay The article, "Danger of a Dominant Identity," was first published in the New York Times on November 18, 2016. It was later added to the online Global Issues in Context database as a scholarly article for educational purposes. The article was written by David Brooks, who is well-known as an American author from his political opinions published in several mainstream news outlets, including the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times and the Weekly Standard. Brooks considers himself and identifies as a "moderate," although he is often viewed by his readers as a conservative. In "Danger of a Dominant Identity," Brooks formulates his argument about the dangers of stereotyping, …show more content…
Brooks seems overly passionate in his tone: "we must collectively devise a means to overcome this 'societal mess,' ultimately to revive 'the American identity'"(Brooks). His well analyzed ability to outline and rhetorically summarize his persuasive argument, collectively, from such a wide abundance of relevent current issues is one of the reasons the article itself is so effective at communicating and speaking to such a vast audience on an emotional level. In the entirety of the article, Brooks makes reference to a multitude of varying ethnic and cultural identity groups, including but not limited to: Latinos, Muslims, African-Americans, Republicans, Democrats, Anti-semites, Jews etc. Inevtibaly what most of these cultural identities also carries is one form or another of stereotype or negative conotation within American society as a whole and with that, controversial and emotional debate. Collectively, all of the cultures have in common, a heavy emotional emphasis as a reader within identifying and discussing these cultural differences amongst each other, especially in regards to the context in which the author outlines them. Within the heavy emotion appeal underlying this article, Brooks is most effective at evoking feelings of empathy and sympathy regarding the concern of American identity and American society as a whole, in addition to a shared awareness for the current state of despair. One of the reasons why Brooks is so succesful at making an effective emotional appeal is not only his broad acknowledgment of the issue overall but the general concern he places on the varying cultural backrounds other then his own and furthermore the concern and passion he portrays, collectively regarding the endless multitide identities that exist within each of