Evaluating Evidence -

I might be a redneck if I post a blog about country music and Wal-mart....
Is that going to stop me from doing it though?
NOPE!

I'm going to completely disregard my hicktown code of ethics, though, by examining some negative reviews of these two things. The first is a "thumbs down" review of Justin Moore's song "Small Town USA." The second is an article persuading people to boycott the Wal-mart corporation.

1) In Karlie Justus's 2009 review of Justin Moore's song "Small Town USA," she makes a variety of claims, but the evidence that she presents is just a procession of empty opinions and her own claims. She feels that the song is "frustrating" and does not really highlight the unique qualities of small town life. However, this seems to be merely her opinion. Her main point of logic is that "even in New York City, a guy can hang out with his girlfriend, down a six pack of beer while listening to [insert country legend of choice here], or attend church on Sunday morning." Although this logos does appeal to the reader and increase Justus's believability, it is not enough logos to fully support her argument. Also, she does little to incorporate pathos into her review. The work merely makes claims based on her own thoughts, and a few examples of lines from the song. She seems more intent on informing the reader of her views than of influencing the reader's thoughts on the song. Finally, ethos is included in Justus's work by refering to Moore's song lyrics as various places in her review. Therefore, due to the excessive use of opinions, little use of logos, and nonexistent pathos in Justus's work, I find her review to be neither credible or believable.

The following is a link to Karlie Justus's review:
http://www.the9513.com/justin-moore-small-town-usa/

2) Jim Hightower's 2002 article, "Boycott Wal-mart," is aimed at persuading people to have negative views of this multibillion dollar corporation. Hightower's persuasive article begins by comparing Wal-mart with a pleasant picture of a small town Arkansas family that is merely trying to sell decent priced goods to decent, hard-working people. The article then claims that this picture is merely a tactic that Wal-mart uses in its advertising for the purpose of appealing to people's emotions. (Even Wal-mart uses pathos!) Then, the article immediately begins to tear down that picture using facts and statistics about the company. For example, Hightower states that the "average [Wal-mart] employee makes only $15,000 a year for full-time work." He also mentions that the corporation's yearly profits are around $7 billion per year, while Wal-mart claims that it is cutting its profits by offering lower prices than many other businesses. Facts and statistics such as these are sprinkled throughout Hightower's article, and they lend logos to his argument. This logos is emphasized by Hightower's firm and simple diction. He tells the facts like they are, and elaborates only when necessary. His main goal is to give readers the facts. After the necessary facts are revealed, however, Hightower uses the conclusion of his article to appeal to the emotions of the readers. He incorporates pathos into his work by basically telling readers that Wal-mart is unpatriotic, and that anyone who supports it is "Un-American." He incorporates the idea that Wal-mart is taking control over "our country, our communities, and our economic destinies." These ideas appeal to the emotions of many Americans because the United States is a place that values individualism and freedom, while Wal-mart, according to Hightower, will deprive Americans of these things. Finally, this article includes a great deal of ethos. It refers to publications such as Business Week, The Texas Observer, and the Wal-mart supervisor's manual as places where its information was found. Therefore, I believe that the article "Boycott Wal-mart" is highly cridible and believable. It includes logos, pathos, and ethos, and uses them in ways that I find to be higly convincing.

The following is a link to the article "Boycott Wal-mart" by Jim Hightower:
http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A17618