In Class Writing

My primary sources fit together in many ways. The first obvious way is that they are all talking about the same topic. They also all exhibit ethical and emotional appeals, while some leave out logical appeals. The articles evoke emotion because they are all talking about the abused children found at the camp whether or not there is enough evidence to actually find someone at fault for child abuse this topic raises emotion out of the readers. Mother's especially can relate to each article because on one side they articles talk about taking children away from their mother which is devastating to a mother. The articles are also talking about child abuse, which mothers can relate the sense of protection a mother feel for her offspring. The ethical appeals that all the articles talk about is whether it is ethical for a camp like this to even exist in the United States. This type of organization is very rare and it makes people feel uncomfortable. It also is seen in the eyes of the media as a immoral and disgusting culture living amongst people with values and Christian ideals. One way that the articles differ is that my last primary source from the Star Telegram was very unbiased and had a lot of logical claims to defend not only the authorities side but also the camp's side. It talks about how people who lived at the camp had their rights violated. Yes, while maybe some people disagree with the actions taking place that does not mean that one person does not deserve the same rights as another. It also talked about how the authorities over stepped their bounds and raided the camp without complete evidence that would allow them to search the grounds. I would say that the first to articles would be examples of how our culture is a culture of assertation and the last one would be an example how our culture is not.

Warrants:

• All people value children and think that they deserve a healthy environment to grow and learn in.
• Most people believe that the laws are implemented for a reason and once they are broken that person should be punished.
• Polygamy is immoral and not based on the values that our country was founded on. Also it goes against many ideals that make the right of marriage sacred.
• Sexual intercourse with a minor is illegal and wrong
• Sexual abuse with anyone is illegal and wrong
• A Polygamy camp like the one in Eldorado could lead to other copy cat camps which could increase the amount of people following this specific religion and beliefs
• The Mormon church excluded the belief of multiple marriages many years ago

When I evaluate all three texts together the sources develop many different aspects determining whether or not our country is a country of assertation. The first two sources are mainly one sided and do not really talk about the lawful reasons why these camps are wrong. They mainly base their facts on the emotional appeal of the audience. Not only is this story out of the ordinary, which would interest the audience, but it also contains a rare belief that we thought was nonexistant in the United States. This gives a slight shock value to the audience because many people could not believe that this type of society was living so close to their home. The local people of Eldorado were revolting that people who had these ideals could one day be elected to governments positions in their town. While parts of the fist two artilces describe some of the laws the camp was disobeying the third article really was the only one that looked at both sides of the story. It really described the wrongful ways of the camp and also the ways the authorities did not handle the situation lawfully.

Unit 2 Proposal

I have finally decided on my unit two topic of the Polygamist camp found in Eldorado, Texas on Sunday April 6^th 2008.  I believe this to be a specific event that has occurred underlining the topic of polygamy.  Since this is pertains to a specific area of the United States I will use a combination of different sources.  Since this event struck national news some sources that would be of use are CNN, MSNBC and other nationally broadcasted news portals.  Since this event took place in Texas I think will also look in the specific town’s local newspaper.  After searching for a bit on the Internet I found that Eldorado’s local newspaper is called the Eldorado Success.  This will have local reactions to the event that happened in that city and how the other members of the community reacted to the event.  I also think it would be interesting to search through local Fort Worth and Dallas papers to see the reactions from larger cities not too far from the town.  I personally chose this topic because I remember reading the articles on CNN, while in Florence studying abroad.  I recall thinking how strange an occurrence like this was happening in a town that was not that far from where I lived.  It is also eye opening to think about the things that happen in this world that you never dream actually occur because of our somewhat sheltered life.  I bet that many people in the town of Eldorado had no idea that this was happening.  I also think that it is an interesting culture that I do not understand at all and perhaps through research I could learn more information about this “unethical” society.  The point of view of the members of the camp will also be very interesting to investigate because they seem to think this life is very normal.  I also chose this topic because it was most controversial because it happened in a very conservative state with a small Mormon population, which increased the shock value of the event.

In Class: Free Write

I think I know the topic that I want to choose for unit two and I have two options. I am having trouble deciding which one would have more primary source on. I was thinking about writing about the Mormon polygamist camp found in Texas. I think it would be very interesting to write about this topic, but I am unsure about how much information is really out there concerning this event. I know that there is a news report on CNN about it because that is where I first heard about this event. What other sources could I use? Would a newspaper article about the event be considered a primary source?

The second topic I have been thinking about is the Olympic athlete who had to give back her track medals because she was caught using steriods. I think that this may be easier to find information and primary sources on because it was more heavily talked about in the media. She also appeared on Oprah, wich is considered an interview and that would an intesting source to use.