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 Taylor Bruns and Amanda Lawler  Clesson  8:00 AP Lang  2/9/09  Jackson, Brooks and Kathleen Hall Jamieson. “Facts Can Save You Life.” __unSpun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation__. New York: Random House, 2007: 25-40.  Poor Edna. She was one great-looking woman, so it was strange she couldn’t land a husband. Edna wasn’t real, but her story, advertised by Listerine in 1923, offers a window into how we can be manipulated by appeals to our fears and insecurities.  If it’s Scary, Be Wary  Advertising has used fear to effectively sell for so long that you would think we would be better at detecting it, especially after listening to politician after politician. Yet, we are just too insecure and scared to think straight. In the 1970s, Gene Amdahl’s “Amdahl 470” mainframe computer was the competitor of and the direct replacement to IBM’s System 370. Yet, the 470 didn’t get nearly as good of sales as the faster, cheaper, and more reliable computer should. Amdahl accused IBM, his former employer, of using “FUD”—meaning “fear, uncertainty, and doubt”—to instill insecurity into those wanting to choose the 470 over the 370. We can see FUD being used all the time, such as in spyware killing programs. Pop-ups tell you that a scan has found spyware on your computer. The pop-up leads you to a sight where you buy 40$ software to “get rid of spyware” that a scan was never even performed for in the first place. We can also see FUD used by politicians. In the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Bush’s State of the Union address made Americans fear a nuclear attack any day by Saddam Hussein; this fear turning into strong support for a war against non-existent weapons of mass destruction. So the question to ask every time an ad scares you is: are we being warned, or deceived?  A Story that’s “Too Good”  When a story seems flawless, we should be cautious. The book //Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture// was greeted warmly by gun control advocates. All of the information saying that hardly any colonial men owned personal guns just fit all into place perfectly. After raising the book up as a great weapon against guns, it was discovered that much of the information was falsified by author Michael A. Bellesiles. The gun control advocates just wanted the story to be true so badly that they made judgment before investigation the facts, an embarrassing mistake in many cases. The Dangling Comparitive/ The Superlatives Swindle  By using comparisons, companies and politicians are able to emphasize the quality and effectiveness of their product. Unfortunately, the dangling comparative has become popular in advertisements, deceiving customers by comparing their product to nothing. Common words used in advertisements to represent the dangling comparative are stronger, better, faster, longer, and larger. The superlatives swindle, similar to the dangling comparative, doesn’t compare the product to others, but still claims that it is the best. Comparing certain qualities of products to others is impossible and based on opinions. Therefore, companies are allowed to state that their product is the best in the world based on one person’s opinion. Common words used in advertisements to represent the superlatives swindle are worst, best, biggest, largest, and most. Both the dangling comparative and the superlatives swindle are also used commonly in politics. The Bush vs. Kerry campaign in 2004 was full of accusations about proposing “higher taxes.” The higher taxes weren’t compared to anything and therefore, the accusation wasn’t completely truthful. Approach advertisements with care and don’t be fooled by dangling comparisons and superlatives swindles.  The “Pay You Tuesday” Con  <span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The “Pay You Tuesday” Con is one commonly used in politics, and one that can get anybody in a lot of debt. This term originated from the old Pop Eye cartoon character J. Wellington Wimpy. He always said, “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger To-day.” Basically, people want things now, and want to pay for them later. The “Pay You Tuesday” Con says to people that they can get everything they desire and they can worry about the cost at some far off day in the future. Unfortunately, Tuesday comes when either the credit card bill comes, the stock market crashes, or one realizes that their bank account is empty. Unfortunately, our economy has hit Tuesday and we are in a deficit. The good living and benefits of the past are gone, and now everyone has to work off their debts until Tuesday is over. <span style="color: #333333; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> The Blame Game <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> In 2004, after haring President Bush talk about high health care costs, you would think that it’s all the lawyers faults for making malpractice suits so vicious. The doctors would just be ordering useless test just for unnecessary safetly. Every other research done, besides the one Bush quoted, was against this and stated that the lawyers had almost no effect on the economy. Bush was just playing the blame game by pushing the blame on an unpopular group. He has been the victim of this game as well. In 2005, Sidney Blumenthal put the blame for New Orleans flooding on President Bush. To blame a natural disaster on a person is just ridiculous in the first place, yet much research was done, all concluding that Bush did not affect the actual flooding of the city. So when someone is quick to blame another group, it is best to look for fault not only in the accused, but in the accuser as well. Glittering Generalities <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: #333333; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> Defined in the text as “attractive-sounding but vague terms,” glittering generalities are presented to make products or services sound too good to be true. In politics, candidates for office want to appeal to the entire audience. By not really expressing a view, every audience member will believe the candidate is on their side. By using glittering generalities, politicians blanket the crowd with appealing statements without really sharing their views on the matter. An example of a glittering generality is seen in the Coca-Cola adds: “It’s the Real Thing.” The real thing is a very broad term meaning almost anything one wants it to mean. Yet, the importance of generalities is to apply the product to every person and let everyone interpret it differently. By appealing to everyone, everybody can relate personally to the product or service. Like all of the other tactics, Glittering Generalities are used to fit personally into the consumer’s life and make them want to buy it, to make them complete and whole. When trying to detect a scam or a false advertisement, don’t let fear overcome you. When insecurity creeps up, pop in a mint, remind yourself that you are not the bridesmaid with bad breath, and don’t give the intimidating ad the satisfaction of a sale. Reader Response Chapter 2 “A Bridesmaid’s Bad Breath” “A Bridesmaid’s Bad Breath” focuses on warning signs of trickery. Politics and advertisements are full of deceptions which one should not buy into. Today we are being affected and swayed by others and their bold statements. Language can easily deceive and swindle us out of our money and individual thoughts. Select __Language Awareness__ articles and __1984__ can provide insight into the extremities that could occur if we are not warned about the dangers of speech. Symbols cause us to think about the thing being symbolized (pg. 55 “Language and Thought”). A dove causes one to think of peace and all words associated with nature, white, and the world. When one sees a dove, several thoughts can erupt in the mind about its significance. Companies, such as Coca-Cola, have a symbol and slogan for their product. When one sees the Coca-Cola circle logo, they will become thirsty and want the product. Also, the well known phrase ‘Coca-Cola: The Real Thing’ may pop into their head. The warning sign entitled ‘A Story That’s Too Good’ is stock full of stories with percentages (symbols of success) that are too good to be true. When someone hears that a product has a high percentage of success, one will think that it can help them too. By adding the, sometimes, false percentage, it causes consumers to believe in the product. //The Origins of a National Gun Culture// written by Michael A. Bellesiles made many false claims about past gun ownership just to prove his point. Bellesiles falsified numbers, statistics, and percentages, and claimed a ten year study on the material to sound more credible. These perfect symbols struck readers, but in the end, all of these claims were false. Advertisements promising unbelievable products are usually not believable. According to William Lutz, author of “Weasel Words: The Art of Saying Nothing at All” unfinished words are common in advertisements to give consumers the impression that their product lasts longer or is stronger. In an advertisement for Duracell batteries, the speaker announced that the battery can last up to twice as long. Unfortunately, the consumer believes it as a better product than the others because it can last up to twice as long, but the advertisement never states what this battery is compared to. “The Superlatives Swindle” and “The Dangling Comparative” are other ways to express and use unfinished words to sway one’s listeners. Politicians have a huge influence on the way we live our lives. They create and edit laws, as well as take money from us. In a reelection speech given by President Bush in 2003, he stated that John Kerry had voted for tax increases in the past and would raise taxes higher if he were to be elected. Unfortunately, these claims were made by going through wormholes and twisting the truth. By using a dangling comparative in the claim and stating a bad thing about his opponent, he promoted himself for president. In “Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell, President Bush used a lot of words to get around the truth. He was not concise or direct, which helped him to win the election. If the bridesmaid was aware of her bad breath, she would be able to pop in a mint. Like the bridesmaid, as voters we should actively listen to what is really being said. We should investigate the meanings behind the words given, and figure where the information is gotten from. Speech laws and codes could act to prevent many of these swindles and verbal high jinks used by politicians. Because speech codes cause a disadvantage to the majority of society, however, they are not going to be reinforced or have support. In __1984__, speech codes were taken to the extreme and reinforced to the point where they abolished individual thought and words. Like in __1984__, if speech codes were set in place, politicians may have trouble talking around topics and may not be able to use glittering generalities. __1984__’s suppressed language is very much transferred to politics. Unfortunately, many people don’t think for themselves because others will for them. When a government official believes in gay marriage and abortion and you decide to vote for them, you have accepted all of their values. In essence, you have paralleled your thoughts to theirs. __1984__ only has one politician, Big Brother. Therefore, in the book everyone’s views were parallel to Big Brother’s because he held the power. President Barack Obama is a confident leader and is ready for change. However, because of his quick slogans and the commonly used “Yes we can!” many U.S. citizens jumped on the bandwagon and were not aware what political views they were reflecting. All the warning signs of trickery are used by politicians and in advertisements. Having the knowledge to watch out for such shams can help any person to buy wisely and listen closely to what others say. Being aware of one’s bad breath is a problem that can be cleared up with a mint-flavored tic tac. Unfortunately, deceitful language used in advertisements and politics can be harder to diagnose and can easily brainwash the recipients. Watching out for glittering generalities, dangling comparatives, superlative swindles, things too good to be true, etc. can help one to think freely and form their own opinions about a product or political issue.