Woody Hochswender’s article “Did My Car Join Al Qaeda?” is not persuasive enough. Hochswender successfully applies imagery in the form of graphic pictures and empathetic gestures to entice onlookers to think using the same mindset as he does. He drives a large SUV that requires a ton of gas. This, he says to his audience, is his decision of transportation but it does not imply he is an awful person. His impudence is duly noted by the Virtuous One, who according to the context, demands that the USA national utilization of fuel is to some degree responsible for the animosity to the Middle East (Muller and Wiener, 2009, p.154). The tone of the author here is alluded to that judgment because he questions the justification of Americans by stating that they should not be calling themselves peacemakers, and USA nationals while driving huge gas guzzlers. Their expensive taste has led to high gas costs. Hochswender doesn’t like the idea that these huge gas costs are what perpetuate Middle East economies and uses this to leverage his argument.
Hochswender appeals to the emotions of the audience (pathos), by stating that the SUVs allow employees to get to and from their jobs and parents to drive children to school and other places. The second appeal is ethical (ethos); according to him, the columnists that linked SUVs with the 9/11 attack approve terrorism as a fundamental right (Muller and Wiener, 2009, p. 154). I disagree with that because SUVs have nothing to do with such malicious acts because they are purchased on merits of comfort, travelling, safety and convenience. He uses reason (logos) to express the many advantages of SUVs. Logically speaking, SUVs or any other car for that matter are not manufactured to support terrorism. The same oil that is used in sedans is the same used in SUVs and does not in any way imply every car owner in the USA is supporting the heinous acts of terrorism.
In conclusion, Hochswender is not convincing enough and cannot force the audience to take responsibility for the tragedies of terrorism. SUVs like many other cars in the world need fuel, but that does not mean that buying oil from the Middle East is an act of supporting terrorism activities.
Reference
Muller, G. & Wiener, H. (2009). To the point. New York: Pearson Longman.
