Health=Wealth

I would like to introduce you to my friend Oscar.  Upon first glance, you will see a rugged, aged man, his thin frame always covered in clothing a size too big for him.  Most of his teeth are missing, and those that remain are black and jagged.  Long thin gray hair and an untrimmed, wiry beard frame his weathered face and watery hazel eyes.  Although he is only 51, most would guess him to be in his 70’s. Oscar lives in the outskirts of society.  He is homeless, poor, and has little formal education. Life has been this way for Oscar since birth.  He grew up in a disadvantaged home, the child of parents who had also been poor their entire lives. It probably does not surprise you to find that Oscar is also sick.  He suffers from heart disease, high blood pressure and a blood disorder that causes extreme fatigue.  What may surprise you, however, is that Oscar is not sick simply because of the lifestyle he leads, the choices he has made, or because he has no health insurance.  Oscar is sick because he is poor.
Arguing effectively that wealth and health are related and that being poor actually causes one to become sick is very difficult in 2011.  Health care reform has been in the front of political agendas in the U.S. for the past decade, with no apparent solution in sight.  The pundits have approached the debate of reform from the economic standpoints of big business profits, pharmaceutical contracts, health insurance plans, and an attack on our fast food driven dietary habits.  These arguments have been led by respected experts in the field of medicine, and lobbyist protecting the well lined pockets of those who stand to lose or gain large amounts of money.  Produced in 2008 by California Newsreel with Vital Pictures, and presented by the National Minority Consortia of public television, “In Sickness and in Wealth,"(part one of the seven part documentary Unnatural Causes), argues quite effectively that genes, behavior and medial care are not the underlying precipitates of health.  Instead, the film proposes it is the social, economic and physical environment in which we are born, live, and work in that determine our overall health and longevity.  The film succeeds in its exigence by providing thorough counterpoint, an intentional reversal of racial and class stereotypes, and direct human examples to represent numerical statistics and correlations. Click here for Documentary Web-site and ordering information
”In Sickness and in Wealth” begins by providing its viewers with statistics stating that while the U.S. ranks first in the world in terms of overall wealth, it ranks 30th in overall health.  While recognizing that diet, exercise and health insurance can improve one’s health, the film states very clearly from the beginning that one's wealth is the number one determining factor of one’s health. Using biological twins who lived together until early adulthood but went on separately to live in different economic classes, the film tracks the health of the disadvantaged twin and their rather steady health decline. Another in-depth study that was featured focused on the city and suburbs of Louisville, KY.  In this study, a geographic map of the 25 Districts of Louisville was created to indicate by color the wealth of each district.  Several more maps were generated, this time reflecting by color the geographic incidence of health issues such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and immune deficiencies.  The maps even went so far as to track deaths, determining excess death and predicting life expectancies.  The study found with very clear, defined results that the wealthier the district, the healthier it’s residents.   The film then continues by presenting the biological and medical causes for this now established argument of the correlation between health and wealth.  Taking the Louisville study to the next level of detail, the researchers went to the city’s main hospital.  The Chief Director of the hospital was a resident of the city’s most affluent District.  Stepping from the top and walking down the economic class ladder (and corresponding residential Districts), the researchers then studied people who worked at the hospital in jobs that mirrored their social level in society.  This included the Chief Director of the hospital mentioned earlier, an ER nurse, a lab assistant, and so on and so forth all the way down to the man who cleaned the hospital bathrooms.  One would assume that the man at the top with the highest demand job had the most stress.  This study proved that to be incorrect.  The highest levels of stress hormones were found at the lowest rung of the social ladder, (and lowest paid position) and these levels of stress actually decreased all the way to the top, where the lowest level of stress was found to correlate to the highest paid position.  This study was compared to a study done in the 1980’s, evaluating stress hormones of dominant monkeys and their clans.  Its findings revealed that the dominant alpha monkey had the highest demand role in the group, yet he had the least amount of stress hormones in his body.  The documentary concludes by stating that it is the individual lack of control a poor person has over his life, specifically in regards to education, income, social policies and the ability to make individual choices, that causes the release of the stress hormone cortisol from the adrenal gland.  Long- term release of cortisol has numerous denigrating effects on the body, eventually causing poor health.
One of the most effective rhetorical strategies “In Sickness and in Wealth” uses to defend its exigence is counterpoint.  In classical rhetoric, counterpoint is the presentation of potential opposing arguments or opinions in order to squelch any doubts on the part of the reader, or in this case, the viewer.  Counterpoint is used in this documentary in the proffering of the gradient scale of health and wealth in London, England.  This scale indicated that just like in the U.S., health and wealth are directly proportional.  What is most relevant about this finding is the emphasis that is placed on the fact that everyone in England has equal access health care, yet this access and opportunity for care did not affect the participant’s health.  The poor were still far unhealthier and far more likely to die young than the wealthy. This use of counterpoint is a very effective strategy by the filmmakers as it presents a direct rebuttal to the opinion most commonly expressed by the mainstream media and elected politicians that the poor in this country are sick because they often have no health insurance and have unequal access to health care. This use of counterpoint leaves the audience questioning all that they have been told by the mainstream media and politicians.  It also incites a desire to research alternative forms of health care.
“In Sickness and in Wealth” also uses a very intentional reversal of stereotypical roles within class and race. This reversal of roles catches the viewer off balance, causing us to take a second look and listen more intently.  This strategy is unspoken, and successfully completed visually in the film; a silent yet powerful strategy. For example, all of the sociologist, medical doctors and scientist presenting the studies and statistical findings in the film are either female or black.  Both of these qualities place them in a minority group typically known for its lack of power and as victims of unequal treatment. Instead we see them in this documentary as the powerful, highly educated leaders of society. The disadvantaged poor, who are commonly stereotyped as lazy, unwilling to work and making poor dietary choices are represented by a hard working Caucasian, who is shown volunteering for the local museum, and grocery shopping for milk, vegetables and other healthy staples.  This strategy appeals to the pathos, or emotions of the viewers. Could what we have come to accept as true instead be false?  If the poor and disadvantaged are not what we conceptualize them to be, could they, in turn, someday become us? This loss of equilibrium is somewhat unsettling to the viewer, and is a persuasive way to dispel some of the stereotypes that may be held of the poor, of blacks, and of women.
Documentaries often are presented with the difficult task of including graphs and other statistical information that were intended to be read from the written page unto the moving format of the film genre. This is most frequently done in such a way that the viewer overlooks, or at best takes in and then readily forgets the presented information.  “In Sickness and in Wealth” uses the necessity of including statistics as an opportunity to connect the viewer with real human beings who are living, breathing examples of the very numbers the graphs and charts are attempting to represent. For example, in the study of Louisville, KY that was previously mentioned, rather than just presenting the color-coded maps of socioeconomic classes by location, the film introduces the viewers to an actual resident from each of the Districts.  We meet their family, learn a little of their past, and see their homes.  Each of these “statistics” now has a name, a face and a story.  The viewer continues to connect with these names and faces as we meet them again at the City Hospital, this time as the very employees presented in the study about stress levels in higher and lower end jobs.  The “working poor” is no longer the second to the bottom rung on a poorly digitized image of a socioeconomic ladder, but instead he is Corey, the janitor at the City Hospital who lives in District 7, has a teenage son, lost his mother to cancer, has hyper tension, and had to save for three years just for a three day bus-ride vacation with his wife.
This use of replacing a statistic with a real human that has a story to tell is a very successful rhetorical strategy on the part of the filmmaker.  The statistics “as-is”, without the human connection, appeals to the logical reasoning of the viewers.  Are the poor really sicker than the wealthy? Yes, and the numbers prove it. However, proving something to the viewer and inciting a reaction from the viewer that may lead to an active response, are two very different things.  The creation of the connection between the viewer and the actual people the numbers represent appeals to the viewer's emotions, lighting a fire within that might spread to further discussion, or even activism. Although the filmmaker never actually suggests that the viewers become involved in health care reform, he does in fact leave us with the notion that it would be unconscionable to continue the way things are.
Reversing the effects of being poor and being sick would require a reconfiguration of our very societal organization.  This is a task so monumental it almost seems impossible.  Yet, “In Sickness and in Wealth” does an outstanding job of appealing to its viewers through its use of thorough counterpoint, intentional reversal of racial and class stereotypes, and direct human examples to represent numerical statistics and correlations.  There are many, many Oscars and Coreys in this world. They are poor, and they are sick because of it.  

Complex and Captivating Comic

While I have always enjoyed the Sunday newspaper comics, I have never been a big fan of comic books.  The joys of Spiderman, Batman, and Archie have somehow eluded me. Imagine, then, my surprise upon discovering that I enjoyed reading the online comic book Shooting War. click here for online version The comic is intriguing, has a clearly defined argument, and the illustrations are complex and captivating. Currently available as a hardcover graphic novel by Grand Central Publishing, Shooting War began as a serialized web comic in May of 2006. click here for link to buy the book It was created and authored by Anthony Lappe and illustrated by Dan Goldman. Lappe and Goldman successfully employ the use of flashback, juxtaposition, and satire in Shooting War. These strategies effectively defend their argument that the mainstream news media is hopelessly driven by commercial (financial) gain in their reporting and broadcasting tactics, and has completely replaced “in the field” reporters who want to give a fair report of the real story with “talking heads” who have their own political and ideological agendas.  

            The main character of Shooting Wars is Jimmy Burns, a news blogger who we meet on the very first page of the comic surrounded by gunfire in the trenches of a warzone.  A detailed flashback in the comic  (return to a moment in time that happened prior to the present) helps the reader understand that Jimmy, an average, rather geeky blogger happened to be present on the street in front of a Starbucks when it and the building surrounding it (which so happens to contain Jimmy’s apartment) is blown up by terrorist. The scene is a dramatic one, including blood and body parts.  Jimmy, the quintessential newsman, captures the aftermath of the explosion and ensuing chaos on his video camera and streams the report to a local news station. Jimmy’s reporting methods lead him to accept a three-year contract to cover the war in Iraq “from the trenches.” The use of this flashback is a great strategy by the writers, in that it not only provided the reader with background information, but it effectively and quickly develops Jimmy’s character.  We see where he lived, what his neighborhood was like, how he reacts in a crisis, and his level of compassion in helping the injured victims of the explosion.  The flashback also does an excellent job defending the main argument of the incompetence of the mainstream news media.

Our main character faces many perils in Iraq, all while blogging and reporting back to not only the U.S., but also to his newly found international audience.  Jimmy finds himself under enemy fire on a regular basis, he is taken by the enemy and forced to live stream the beheading of Muslim peacekeeper. After his release, he finds himself partnered with an Iraqi woman named Sameera working in the war as a translator.  Sameera and Jimmy are in dirty, bloody, dangerous situations all of the time.  They are trying to present a true, accurate news report to the people of the world of the realities of Iraq.  This down and dirty hands-on reporting is presented by the author in stark contrast to the suit and tie, well fed and somewhat arrogant mainstream media talking head, Bill O’Reilly on Fox News.  We also see a sharp contrast between Jimmy and his employer and members of the newsroom at The Globe.  This use of juxtaposition is very successful at continuing the argument of mainstream news media incompetence.

            Another rhetorical strategy used by the comic strip authors is the most widely used strategy for this genre, and that is the use of satire.  Even given the serious, life altering subject of war, humanitarianism and survival, the author finds a way to make us laugh, keeping the reader engaged and humored.  But more importantly, this use of satire has a very valuable social purpose in this story.  Lappe and Goldman successfully use the satire to debunk the credibility of the mainstream news media, which may be a cultural icon to the readers. This seemingly hidden strategy is surprisingly very effective.

The rhetorical strategies used in Shooting Wars (flashback, juxtaposition and satire) are often used in the comic book, or graphic novel genre. Other rhetorical strategies that are intrinsic to the comic book medium include the use of narrator (either in the first or third person), personification (giving human voices to animals or objects), and Irony.  Given the flexibility of comic time vs. real time, the authors in this medium have a huge amount of leeway in presenting multiple points of time and space, sometimes within the individual comic panels, and sometimes within chapters or even the entire collective piece.

Shooting Wars is a fascinating look into the concept of blogging as a news source, all the while questioning and criticizing the mainstream media.   An additional layer of politics and U.S involvement in Iraq provides interesting and at times humorous reading.  The illustrations in the comic are layered between real life photography and cartoon style illustration and provide the reader with graphic images that can be both highly detailed and also at times very vague, leaving the reader in his own dark imagination. Lappe and Goldman are to be applauded with this layered approach of rhetoric in this re-emerging genre. 

Unifying Dreams

Standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial in August of 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered to an assembled group of 200,000 his infamous “I have a Dream” speech, forever ingrained in my mind and the minds of many others, as the most powerful argument against racial inequality to ever be presented. Click here for speech Almost fifty years later, another speech on the very same issue has now made its way into the classic volumes of American rhetoric. Barak Obama (at that time the Senator of Illinois), speaking before the gathered crowd at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, delivered his “A More Perfect Unity” speech. click here for speechBoth speeches are strikingly similar, and make excellent use of several known rhetorical strategies.

Both King and Obama do an incredible job with using a concrete theme.  In each speech, the theme (freedom in the case of King, and unity in the case of Obama) is repeated several times throughout the argument. In Kings piece the theme begins subtly, with infrequent usage of the word, and increases in both fervor and frequency, with a huge crescendo to the finish.  Obama’s theme is presented concretely early, by linking himself in unity with history, and his family, and then builds as to moves to unity with his race, his church and eventually all of America.  Both King and Obama used repetition of their theme as well.  King using the word “freedom” 21 times, and Obama using  “unity” 21 times. I find it very interesting the one word that states the over-all theme is used in both pieces the identical number of times.

Word repetition continues beyond the theme for both men, and we see several examples of this very powerful rhetorical strategy. Dr. King’s repetitions often come in the form of short phrases, specifically “one hundred years later”, “I have a dream”, and “we can never be satisfied”, as seen here:

                                    There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

This form of word repetition was highly effective for Dr. King, particularly given his oratorio style, which in itself could be the subject of another discussion. Obama also used word repetition strategy, seen below in the use of “this time”, however he did not employ this as often as King:

                                                      “That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time, we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time, we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

This time we want to talk about how the lines in the emergency room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care, who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.

This time, we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time, we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

This time, we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together and fight together and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that should have never been authorized and should have never been waged. And we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them and their families, and giving them the benefits that they have earned.”

               The use of allusion is also seen in both of the pieces, specifically with the use of scripture.  Dr. King directly quoted scripture, specifically from the book of Isaiah, whereas Obama spoke of a cast of characters from the Old Testament:

                                           "People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend's voice up into the rafters. And in that single note — hope! — I heard something else: At the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion's den, Ezekiel's field of dry bones. Those stories — of survival and freedom and hope — became our stories, my story. The blood that spilled was our blood, the tears our tears, until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black. In chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a meaning to reclaim memories that we didn't need to feel shame about — memories that all people might study and cherish, and with which we could start to rebuild."

This is very effective of both men, as they are able to link not only themselves, but also the entire black community to central figures from scripture.

                   Arguably, one of the most prominent strategies used in both speeches is that of counterpoint.  Counterpoint can be expressed not only as the opposing view to one’s position in the presented argument, but also in the usage of language.  Dr. King mentioned of “rightful place” and “wrongful deeds”, “bitterness” and “hatred”, “dignity” and “discipline”, “creative protest” and physical violence”, and “physical force” and “soul force”, all of which act to a counterpoint to each other.

                              “But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force”

King complimented his counterpoint with fantastic use of imagery.  We are not just standing on the threshold of a palace, but we are standing on the warm threshold of the palace of justice, with our thirst for freedom, drinking from the cup. King’s use of both imagery and counterpoint are frequent in his argument. The listener can physically feel his message.  Obama also uses counterpoint many times. We see it in the use of such words as “color and creed”, “rights and obligations”, “protests and struggles”, “on the streets and in the courts”, and “civil war and civil disobedience.”

                All of the strategies used by Obama and King lend themselves not only to written arguments, but to the listening audience as well.  Word repetition and counterpoint are two very effective tools for oral argument. They help the listener to remember what has been said, long after the speech is over.

                 Both Dr. King and Barak Obama made effective use of known rhetorical strategies in these two now classic pieces of American rhetoric.  In the case of Dr. King, an entire movement finally found its identity and was able to name its cause because of his powerful, skillful and passionate presentation of his argument.  And as we know, Obama went on to become President Barak Obama, some say, in part, because of this speech.  I can only hope that not another fifty years will pass before we finally see a realization of these men’s unifying dreams.  

Rhetoric and Tech....You're kidding, right?

In the spirit of full disclosure, let me confess that I am as excited as a kid in a candy store to be at college. Being a full time mommy of five has dominated every moment of my life for a long time. At the beginning of my motherhood,with the exception of a few months here and there, I was either pregnant or nursing a baby for nine consecutive years. While I have no regrets, those years were hard, selfless work. My husband and I used to keep track of who had acquired the most "P's" on their clothing that week (poop, puke or pee.) If I had only known then that those problems of infancy and toddlerhood would be replaced by the three "G's" of the teenage years, (girlfriends, gaming and grades ) I would have been a little more thankful!

Mom's support groups such as MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and my close group of friends have kept me sane, and through all of this I have even managed to hold on to the small and fragile seedling that is "self". While I continue my role as "mommy", I am ready to water and feed that well rooted seedling into a strong and fruitful tree. A tree that I hope can provide shelter and shade to those in need of direction and support after times of trauma.

That process of growth is beginning now, in the typical freshman courses, English, Biology, Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy, and Political Science. ( I am holding off on the Math as long as humanly possible.) I spent hours choosing these courses. I visited the campus at least six times before school started, finding my classrooms, the best places to eat lunch, park, and of course, of utmost importance, locating Starbucks. I purchased my texbooks early and started my first week of classes having read and oulined the first two chapters of each of the texts. No one, and I mean NO ONE was going to throw me a curve ball. I was armed, loaded, and ready to learn.

Enter into the scene a very young, (I could be his mother and I am only 41), energetic English teacher. I am assuming he is a teacher and not a professor, unless PhD's are now awarded to minors. That being said, he is bright and seems to be passionate about rhetoric. Fantastic! I love to write, am familiar with Aristotle's theories on persuasion and am open to critique. This should be a wonderful class. Let me emphasize should. Upon reading the syllabus on the computer, (there is one at every desk in his classroom) I broke into a cold sweat. The title of the syllabus is Technology and Online Rhetoric. That was NOT the title of this course as outlined by the English department in the University catalog. Further reading of the future assignments revealed not only the typical papers (Rhetorical Analysis, Cultural Analysis, Definition Essay, Proposals) but also technology related projects. (Blogs, Xtranormal, texting verbiage, gaming language etc.) Xtranormal?? I had to google this just to see what the heck he was talking about. Gaming Language?? The only gaming language that comes out of my mouth is "shut off the X-box and do your homework NOW or you are grounded and I am throwing the damn thing in the trash." Somehow, I don't think this is the "gaming language" my teacher is referring to. Aristotle and Black Ops?? He's kidding, right?

This morning at breakfast I told my kids about my English class. Up until now, the kids have approached the whole "mommy going to college" bit with restrained enthusiasm. Their major concerns are that I will still be there to help them with their homework, that their baseball uniforms will still be washed and ready to wear at game time, and that there still will be a dinner made. Until now. Gaming language? Texting verbiage? They think it sounds awesome. My fourteen year old wants a copy of the syllabus to show his 7th grade English teacher, whom he refers to as "Dinosaur Woman". "Wow mom," said my 11 year old. "You are going to make a movie with Xtranormal?" "I want to help!" Sigh. He knew what Xtranormal was. I guess maybe it is time that I do, too.