Debate Watch

    The 2015 Presidential Debates have been filled with all sorts of interesting remarks, that have provoked a wide range of emotions from the audience.  With that being said, the presidential candidates have had their share of trip-ups where they end up using fallacies in their discourses.  

    One of the most promising candidates of the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton, has had her fair share of.  The fallacy she tends to use the most is the straw man.  She consistently evaded the questions that were asked, and kept refocusing them to talk about her talking points that she felt more comfortable using.  Blue Prints LSAT compared it to Secretary Clinton turning the questions on their head, and giving an answer to a completely different question.

    In the same party, Governor Martin O'Malley used appeal to emotion, and tried using tragic experiences in his life instead of using examples of his leadership.  For example, he gave a teary-eyed remembrance of some of the funeral's he has attended in Baltimore rather than explain how he has helped improve the city.

Film Viewing

   The documentary I focused on was Restrepo by Sebastian Junger.  It revolves around the experiences of Second Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team of the United States Army.  This group of young men were placed in what was considered to be the most dangerous part of the world at the height of the war against terrorism.  The message Junger was trying to send to its audience is that our soldiers in the front lines do not care about the political mess that happens on Capital Hill.  They do not care about what the top brass of the military is doing.  The only thing these young men, literally for the fact that the age range is between 19 to 25, want to do is protect the people of the lands they were sent to, and to protect their brothers-in-arms.  There is nothing more to the matter, that is the sole purpose of why they enlisted and joined the fight, to protect the United States.  

    Junger in his documentary, follows the same platoon for the extension of their tour of duty which lasted one year.  Junger's style was not to interfere with outside sources or political junk.  He was just there living with them day by day, and the documentary is just the story of each one of the soldiers stationed at outpost Restrepo which got its namesake from a combat medic by the name of Restrepo who had died earlier that year.  The link I have inserted will capture the atmoshphere and the thoughts they were having as they were arriving in the Korengal Valley.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6iDnQ4v7GA

    The documentary was successful in my opinion because it captured the true character of this rowdy bunch, and their true desire to serve.  Several times throughout the film, the soldiers stated that the only reason they fought was for the man standing next to them covering their back.  Nothing else to it.  The one line that I believe captures the message behind the whole documentary, and that seals the argument being made, is when one soldier says that the thing that keeps him going is John 15:13.  I had to look this up and what it says is, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend."

Built Environment as Argument

    Texas A&M University is one of the largest campus in the nation, and with that come different environments and atmospheres.  Depends on what part of campus, and at what time you are walking, will dictate what you feel or the vibe you get.  For example, in my personal experience ever since I've been a fish the minute I set foot on the Quad, also known as the "Quadrangle" to freshmen, I get a sense of heightened senses as if I were on edge always keeping an eye out for whatever may come at me.  Yes this is in part because as a fish you are supposed to do a bunch of corps games, but if you look past that you will realize that the original quad was built as a fortress of sorts.  The building are strategically placed in order to defend the center of the Quad, and there is an entry control point known as the arches.  The old dorms are very rustic building made out of cinder blocks and steel meant to withstand air raids during the WWII era.  Maybe its the corps games, or maybe its the fact that the Quad was built to defend its inhabitants in the case of an attack.

    In complete contrast with the Quad we have the Memorial Student Center.  The MSC is a living memorial for the Aggies who never made it home from war, but unlike many other memorials in the nation which are somber the MSC is very much filled with life.  This building will embrace you the minute you walk in with its openness, and lighting.  It has wide open areas with white tiling and walls which are pure.  It is meant to be a place of relaxation and studying, and it successfully projects that vibe to the student body.  Yet, if you are feeling thoughtful you can always take a stroll to the Hall of Honor where they have a display of the 8 Medal of Honor recipients and a small memorial with the name of all the fallen Aggies and the conflicts they fought.  The thing about the MSC that really gives it that mysterious feel is the grass.  The MSC grass to any Aggie is sacred and is not to be stepped on.  Even the landscape surrounding the MSC adds to the environment surrounding the building.

    These two areas on campus have their share of good views, but the one that takes the cake in my opinion is nowhere near them.  My favorite view on campus, which is where I go on my late night walks, to smoke victory cigars with my roommate, to impress a girl, and any other random event is on top of the Titanic building.  This building is next to Simpson Drill Field and in front of the Academic Building.  There is a hidden staircase on the east side of the building that you can follow to the top, and it will take you to the third tier of the building right below the rooftop ( it can might as well be the rooftop).  You may or may not be allowed up in this area, but it is rarely visited by anyone else, which is why it is my sanctuary.  The view up there is by far the best on campus, especially on a starry night.  You lean on the edge and in front of you, you can see Simpson and across Simpson you can see Kyle Field in all its majesty.  To the left of you, you have the faithful Academic Building who has been standing watch since the early 1900's.  Finally to your right you have the clock tower with its bells breaking the silence through the night.

    Like any cadet, I truly love this campus, but the places that will come to mind in 10 years when I'm off in the wild blue yonder will easily be the Quad, and the Memorial Student Center because these are the places where I have spent most of my time at.  The activities are all Corps related because the Corps has consumed my life for the past 4 years, and because of that the memories that are forever with me include the raising of the flag on the Quad during a Texas sunrise and sunset.  Students from all walks of life walking through the Hall of Honor and taking a moment out of there day to connect with Aggies who they never met.  This campus started as an all military college which through time has evolved into this tier one university.  However, what this campus reminds us every day is of our brave heritage, and the gift of living in this great nation because of the sacrifices we have never failed to endure as Aggies.  The 4 most arguably renown buildings on this campus are military related or some sort of memorial, and that is the message she is trying to get through.  After all, there is a spirit can ne'er be told...

Anti-Smoking Public Service Announcement

  The first video I analyzed for this blog post has been one of my all time favorites when it comes to anti-smoking campaigns.  It is the infamous "You Don't Always Die From Tobacco" video that features two cowboys in what seems to be the middle of Time Square singing a little country tune.  The thing that makes this video so peculiar is that the vocalist for the duo has a hole in his throat due to tobacco.  He sings the whole song with a robotic voice from a machine that is helping him project his voice since his "voice box" was removed.  This man is making an example out of himself by showcasing his own disabilities, and how he can no longer speak without the assistance of a handheld device.  The video doesn't address much about tobacco itself, but the lyrics to the song speak volumes with lines like, "You don't always die from tobacco, sometimes they just snip out your tongue.  You don't always die from tobacco, sometimes you just lose a lung."  Some believe this video went too far since it was staged in the middle of a busy city where everyone was a target since everyone could see them, but I believe it gets the job done.
   The second video I analyzed is called "The Real Cost Commercial:Stay In Control".  This commercial was aired mainly in movie theaters during the trailers, so anyone who went to the movies during those six months saw this video.  The video just explains how smoking cigarettes is pretty much like signing a contract giving your freedom to the tobacco industry since you will get addicted to their products.  This commercial is much less grotesque than the first one because it was aired in several movies where little children may or may not have been present.  And do to the fact that its shock factor isn't as high, I believe that this commercial was not as effective as the first.  They had the same message, but a different way of transmitting it.

One Red Paperclip... and a Real Sad Story

  So after reading the story of the man who traded a red paperclip, and eventually ended up owning a house, I was pumped about my little silver paperclip in hopes that my story would be just as breathtaking as his.  It all started in my organizational communication class where I had my first successful transaction after I traded the silver paperclip for a black hair band from the young lady sitting next to me.  After the fairly easy transaction, I was sure that I was on to something good.  I then traded the hair band for a wooden pencil in my very next class from a girl who needed a hair band, I got bonus points because she thought it was thoughtful of me to carry women's hair bands for damsels in distress.  I then got to my room, and asked my roommate if he had anything he was willing to trade for a wooden pencil.  After a little bit of bartering, it was the first time anyone in this story actually questioned why I was doing this, he decided to help me out by giving me a mechanical pencil.  A slight technological upgrade, but nonetheless my trading was still moving forward to bigger better things.  My final good trade came when I traded an Air Force officer that pencil for an Air Force ROTC pen.  Unfortunately, this is where my story flat lines because I could not manage to trade that blue pen for anything other than more pens that were the same quality or worse.

Getting a Job

As I scavenged the web in search of the ultimate job (not really), I came across an ad from Certified Payment Processing.  The ad stated in big bold letters that it was looking for people who have strong character and are strong willed to be sales representatives for their company.  As I kept reading, CPP also stated that their sales representatives could earn as much as 100k a year if they were successful in the business which immediately caught my eye.  Here are the reasons why I believe I would be a great asset to the company.

1.) Strong character and will are pretty much the two main things the military instills in you since day one.  I have gone through several military training sessions, and despite whatever they are actually teaching you, the underlying lesson is teaching you to have a strong will.  As for the strong character, you can thank my parents for that as it is a natural trait in my personality.  Some people call it cockiness, but I prefer to address it as extremely confident.

2.) I am decently good at convincing people.  Once again, the way the military works is by influencing people who don't want to do a certain task that they should do that task because they want to, and not because you are telling them to.  With that being said, I am currently in charge of roughly 60 people, and I practice these skills on a regular basis.  To add on to that, I am a recruiter for the Corps of Cadets, so my job is literally to convince people to join an organization that is known for restricting your freedoms and happiness.  Now that takes talent.

3.) The add stated that being bi-lingual was a plus.  I've been speaking Spanish longer than I have spoken English.  I have mastered both languages and can effectively communicate, write, and read both of them.  Coming from parents that were born in Mexico, but being raised in the United States has given me the opportunity to understand both cultures, therefore being able to talk to a wider audience.

This is why I believe I would be an effective sales representative for Certified Payment Processing.