Postman's Distiction

In the last paragraph of Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman makes the distinction between thinking and laughing. He says that people do not know what they are laughing at and do not know why they have stopped thinking. This distinction matters because it shows how the decline in the age of typography has really affected us. Instead of thinking while doing any activity, such as watching TV, we just sit there and veg. We become entertained by the littlest and unimportant shows and ideas that we become ignorant to what is really going on around us. The rise in the age of television has made us unaware of what is going on in the world and stop caring about important things.

Not talking Friday

On Friday it was very hard not to talk. I wanted to talk so bad and I did not realize how much I did talk in school. Before Friday, I thought it was going to be easy because I do not talk a lot in school, but I was very wrong. Whenever I tried to draw something on the board people got confused and did not know what I was saying. I tried explaining but they had no idea. Sometimes people would ask me a question and they would say “Oh, never mind you can’t talk.” At the end of the day when I could finally talk my one friend came up to me and asked me if I was mad at him because all I did was smile when he said something. I tried explaining but he did not know but at the end of the day he understood. People get a very different message when you cannot talk.

Postman on Youtube

In the video, Neil Postman mentions many quotes and arguments that define our world today. He says that, “All our inventions are an improved means to an unimproved end.” People in our society are always looking for new inventions and the “coolest” new idea. We get sick of our old electronics because the new ones can do more, even if it is a very subtle change in the inventions. We always want something bigger and better. In Chapter 1 of Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman mentions the use of smoke signals. He says that they were once used as a way of communication, but today we just use simpler ways to communicate and all have become lazy. Today, people still have conversations with each other but are almost always texting or doing something else at the same time. We cannot get rid of communicating with speech because we will all become like clones and have a decrease on intelligence and interaction.

Neil Postman mentions in the video that we have all become like clones. We all do the same things, and worry about the same ideas such as appearance and acceptance. He says, “Those without camera appeal are excluded from addressing the public about what is called the news of the day.  Those with camera appeal can command salaries exceeding one million dollars a year.” Everyone today is always worried about how they look and do not focus on the real things that matter. We always hope people accept us by the way we dress, the way we look, or the physical objects we have. None of those things are important and by the decline of typography, we always experience television telling us how to act. People get paid to act a certain way and look a certain way. We should be focusing on people’s personalities and they was they act, not what the latest trend is.

Chavez's Article

1. Chavez’s intent with the first six words is to explain that you should think before you talk and act like an adult when you are speaking in public. You would not want to offend someone with a negative word or hurt them by what you say. She explains this in the first six words to get her point across right away and inform the reader what her opinion is.
2. Bellicose means “inclined or eager to fight.” She uses this word to explain that fighting has been used and is used in politics throughout history. By using bellicose, Chavez describes metaphors and how they derived from war fare.
3. Chavez is trying to persuade the reader into believing that word choice is crucial to civilized speaking but it does not take away from what is being said. She tells us that the meaning of the point the speaker is telling should not be changed because they are using different words to sound civil. “The desire not to give offense has even infected the literary world,” says Chavez. She explains that the literary world is being affected by our word choices. She wants the reader to know that word choice should still give the same meaning as the point intended and should not convey a childlike choice of what is being said. The best example that supports her point is “Civility in public discourse is important, but it should not be used as an excuse to stifle legitimate debate or denude our language of color, passion, or good metaphor.” She tells the readers that if they speak civilized in public, they cannot harm or offend anyone. By knowing the right terminology for everyone to feel respected, the speaker will not be seen as criticizing the readers.
4. I agree with Chavez because she makes a very good point of speaking well in public. If someone did not know what to say to avoid insulting another person, they should not say anything at all. Being educated in terminology would help someone learn to speak well in crowds and speak properly. They can speak properly by knowing the language and knowing what is right to say.  Speakers should not just say whatever they want and hope no one cares. They should take into consideration how other’s feelings when they say offensive words. In “Huckleberry Finn,” the words of the time period’s language change and they are not intended to offend anyone. Literature changes over time and the way Americans speak has, also. Chavez uses very good points to tell readers her message and I totally agree with her.

"Conserve, Reuse, Recycle"

Semrau’s article, “Conserve, Reuse, Recycle”, tells the reader that it is important to use what you have till you cannot use it any longer. He also says if you cannot use it anymore, give it to someone who can make good use of it. He makes the point of, “Quite simply, use what you have until it can no longer function.” In the end of the article, he says that he is going to Harvard Medical School to fulfill his job of using everything to the fullest. He is volunteering his body for the use of science, by giving it to them when he dies. He intentionally leaves this out till the end and it greatly impacts the story. By leaving it out it creates suspense and wonder in the reader and makes the article much more interesting. If you knew he was going to medical school to be a cadaver, the reader probably would not be as interested as if he said he was 75 years old and going to medical school. Him waiting until the end to tell the reader this makes them want to keep reading and find out how he is going to attend medical school.

"Savor of the Nations Come"

The theme of hymn 332 in the Lutheran Service Book, Savior of the Nations Come is praise God for what he has done for you. Jesus came to save us and we should glorify Him for doing so. Luther mentions that He is a wondrous child and that He is “glorious in His light divine.” Luther says that we should praise God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit because They have all done marvelous acts for us. He also says, “Though by all the world disowned, Still to be in heaven enthroned”.  This shows that God loves us so much that He will always be there even if we don’t want to have a relationship with Him. He uses diction very well in this hymn. He uses words like marvelous and glorious to describe God. This makes the meaning so much more powerful because it shows that God is that great He can be called these words.  Luther also uses pathos. He says “captive leading death and hell.” This shows that the Lord can give you eternal damnation but He doesn’t because He loves us. Luther’s hymn shows what God has done for us and how we should glorify Him.

Edwards and Borghardt

1. Jesus is used 23 times. They use verbs like slain, saved,died, rose, reins, grabs, holds, blesses, and makes.

2.Edwards’ and Borghardt’s themes were very different and basically opposites. Jesus was mentioned many more times in Borghardt’s sermon than Edwards’. Edwards’ sermon was all about the law of God where everyone is damned. He says that since we are all sinners we are going to hell. He barely talks about Jesus and when he does, He is briefly mentioned. Borghardt’s sermon was all about Jesus Christ. He said that Jesus died for us and saved us from hell. He talks about Jesus in a way to glorify Him and praise Him for what he has done for us.