This intriguing article opens us up to a discussion of what words should/should not be used in a public forum. The language is suggestive, but not graphic in this article - but if references to curse words make you uncomfortable, then I'd suggest you skip this article.
Again, in your case for or against this concept you need to do the following -
- Summarize the main point of the article and identify which position you take (AFFirmative or NEGation)
- Use evidence from at least 2 other sources to support your evaluation of the argument put forth in the original piece
- Use appropriate quotation format and cite your sources
- Write 300-500 words (proofreading is critical)
"Do you want to live where somebody will defecate on the sidewalk and say that that's a function of his personal freedom?" That is what John Douglas, the president of the education division of CBS, has to say about profanity on public forums. Now obviously, defecating on a sidewalk is illigal, so his attempt at a witty metaphor fails completely and misses the point of profanity. Douglas is offended that he and his 15 year old son had the displeasure to hear a few curse words on the radio, but his logic is not sound. He believes that curse words should not be aired on public forums, but I will tell you why that is unreasonable. First, "dirty words" are things that we put a label on. We tell ourselves that these words are bad. Why are they bad? Because we say they are! There is no rational argument against that. Second, we use profanity in place of other words; a word like "poop" is replaced by the word "s**t". But even though you would be communicating two different words, they mean the same thing. Both words have the same context and are exactly alike, except for the spelling. So why would Douglas get offended at the latter and not the former? Finally, curse words are all around us. Taking them off public forums is one thing, but just because it's off the air doesn't mean you won't hear it at a grocery store or in highschool. So basically, getting butthurt over a simple handful of words isn't worth it.
ReplyDelete-Parker Tirrell
Parker, nice job all around, the introduction was smooth and was very easy to follow, and brought you into your three main points very nicely. Now you could have expanded a sentence or two on to each point, providing examples, quotes, or statistics about information, like how often your normal person cusses in a day or something like that. I would also suggest incorporating all your points into your conclusion statement so your listener is reminded of your points so they can think of things to ask during the questioning round following your speech. One more thing, citations? You always need to have references, do your research, even if you think you know your topic.
ReplyDeleteVery nice job.
-Kelsey