DID MY CAR JOIN AL QAEDA? BY WOODY HOCHSWEDER
Persuasive Essay on ‘Did My Car Join Al Qaeda?’ by Woody Hochswender
‘Did My Car Join Al Qaeda?’ by Woody Hochswender concerns the on-going discussion of whether the US usage of sport utility vehicles (SUV) (which is connected with the more than average usage of oil) has anything to do with the support of any terrorist activities.
In my personal opinion, the author of the article is very persuasive because he does not just discuss the issue but he also brings out all the necessary arguments to support his point of view on the issue under discussion.
Woody Hochswender undertakes an attempt to dwell upon the question whether the increased oil consumption results in the sponsorship of the Middle East terrorist organizations.
When Hochswender says, ‘Those who implicate Americans, validate the terrorists as essentially right’ (Hochswender, 154), he brings in ethos as one of the ethical appeals.
At some point, Hochswender applies pathos to his article. His question whether he is a bad person or not if he drives SUV serves to attract readers’ attention. Being one of SUV drivers by no means make anyone an enemy.
In order to make the readers to share his point of view, Hochswender tries to persuade them with the help of arguments (here we are to speak of logos).
He compares people who just make claims with those people who face the hardships of severe weather circumstances. He proves that sometimes in order to overcome snowstorms, one might need nothing but an SUV. The similarity of the situations helps to prove that owing the aforementioned car has nothing in common with the support of terrorist activities (Waicukauski, Sandler & Epps, 2009).
So, in accordance with the above said, I agree that Hochswender is persuasive in his arguments.
Bibliography
Muller, G.H. & Wiener, H.S. (2009). To the Point: Reading and Writing Short Arguments. Pearson Education, Inc.
Waicukauski, R.J., Sandler, P.M., Epps, J.A. (2009). 12 Secrets of Persuasive Argument. American Bar Association. - 241 p.
