english assingment (media article)timzjackline

Toils of Trouble in Election 2012: John Barrow and Lee Anderson

Walk into any room where people are conversing, and more than likely, someone will be discussing the current election of 2012. This election year has been dubbed by popular media and the Chief Political Correspondent for Good Morning America-George Stephanopolous as being one of the fiercest among candidates they have covered in a long, long time.” 1 There are candidates who attack each other, not only based on their political views, but also on their moral turpitude, character and party affiliations connecting them with other elected officials. Both candidates are guilty of this practice. John Barrow states that Lee Anderson stands for this negative topic while almost simultaneously, Lee Anderson retaliates with negative statements about John Barrow on the same issue. This process has become an extreme turnaround from the way in which the election process was intended- honest and fair .

However, given the negative sides of electing ones statesman, congressman or President for that matter, it is a responsibility that all citizens should participate. In respecting ones responsibility to participate in electing an official, it is difficult to know the truth. Every candidate has their own truth, which may be different from the real, actual truth. The continuous arguments between Congressman John Barrow and Candidate Lee Anderson who hopes to unseat Mr. Barrow have bombarded the television networks with all sorts of horrific claims against each other. Fundamentally, when one candidate states a claim, especially in a television commercial, the very next commercial that follows is the other candidate rebutting the former’s claim. These commercials as portrayed by both candidates encompass the second law of logic which is the Law of Non-Contradiction. The Law of Non-Contradiction says that “something cannot both be and not be at the same time and in the same sense/relationship.” 2 Class Notes John Barrow suggests to voters that Lee Anderson is not a friend to the taxpayer, because he Anderson supported an increase in Georgia Power electricity rates for customers. Lee Anderson says he is indeed a friend to the taxpayer because he helped to support Georgia Power. This is a logical deductive argument that is both valid and sound, as it can be deduced from the information indicated on their websites and the Augusta Chronicle newspaper. 3 It is valid because the premises that both Anderson and Barrow rest their argument on the bases that they are in fact true. However, if one were to look closer at the intended meaning of the term friend, there could be fault within the interpretation of the term itself. In other words, the term “friend” can be somewhat ambiguous as it depends on the intended understanding of the word by the receiver. If it were a case of term ambiguity, then, this would be a Fallacy of Equivocation. “To this degree, is a politician really a constituent’s friend or just a person fulfilling a job obligation”?

Politicians commit many sins against those things that are right and good. Of the many political sins committed by both politicians in this race, and there were many, the issue most sensitive to voters, who are Democrats, are the attempts to downgrade John Barrow through his affiliation with President Obama. Lee Anderson misrepresents several statements about John Barrow’s support of Obama. As determined in a few class discussions, Lee Anderson’s actions are examples of not one but two fallacies-Argumentum Ad Hominem the Straw Man Fallacy. Given the Argumentum Ad Hominem Fallacy, Anderson takes his argument to the man or people in this case. His first premise suggests that John Barrow supports Obama Care. Obama Care does not work; therefore, voters should not pay any attention to what John Barrow has to say about Medicare as he should be voted out , because John Barrow is affiliated with President Obama. This is an example of deductive reasoning. However, it is an invalid argument, because it is possible for the argument to be false. There are valid reasons for voters to endorse John Barrow. Voters should pay attention to John Barrow because he is a highly educated man, with a great deal of experience in many areas as he has served on various committees. Also, as the argument stands, this is not a sound argument, since its premise is not true. To address Anderson’s blatant misrepresentation of John Barrow’s views, also known as the Straw Man Fallacy, again, Anderson uses an attack on Barrow’s affiliation with the President to influence voters. Anderson deliberately tries to lead voters in believing that John Barrow is going to make extensive cuts in the defense budget. Here again he based another premise on the fact that John Barrow is closely affiliated with President Obama. He creates a false version of John Barrow’s projects and then refutes them. In his television advertisements, he refers to John Barrow as President Obama’s congressman. He further tries to degrade John Barrow by saying that John Barrow is two-faced. This further misrepresents John Barrow’s character to voters and gives a false version about this politician. By their very nature are these arguments made by Lee Anderson against John Barrow fallacious. Neither of the informal fallacies hold true in this election against John Barrow- the Straw Man nor the Argumentum Ad Hominem. It is certain that Lee Anderson surely has not been the first person guilty of logical fallacies, as it is equally certain that he will not be the last. However, for voters’ sake in the future, the rules need to change so that politician can be held accountable for those things they say knowing they are fallacious to just get elected. There is always the question after any major election, and the same applies for Election 2012,”How do politician take back the awful things they said about each other and get to work performing the duties they were elected to perform?”

Deductions:

Minor formatting issues: -3%

Paper Grade: 97% (A)

1http://abcnews.com/george

2 Logic In- Class Notes and Material, Fall2012

3 Augusta Chronicle newspaper