Post what you consider your best paragraph--either from this class or from your career as a student. Explore/explain why this paragraph is so strong.Use the comment link below to make your post.
One of my best paragraphs: (Introduction to a Research paper on Classic Blues) The early 20th century marked a time where music from different cultures combined to create the genre called classic blues. The blues are ?a vocal form whose origins derive from African American traditions and date from sometime in the 19th century,? (Ferris 196). Field hollers from the times of slavery expanded into simple solo songs, full of emotional content and highly expressive of their loneliness and pain. Prior to classic blues, men sang rural or country blues throughout the country. Each stanza in the song had three lines, and each line had four measures or bars (twelve-bar blues). This part of the blues is the only American contribution to musical form. Blues singers adopted the African custom of singing flexible notes to create fluid, emotionally expressive melodic lines. The ?vocal and instrumental scoops and slides or glissandos also derived from African-American singing,? (Ferris 197). Two artists that changed the sound of the blues genre were Bessie Smith and Gertrude ?Ma? Rainey. They formalized rural blues into classic blues and sang about the conditions of their environment. Poverty, alcoholism, domestic violence, and love were some of the subjects that were addressed in their lyrics. Ultimately, their music was a reflection of the status quo and derived from African-American and Anglo-American music.
I believe that this paragraph is very strong in that the first sentence introduces the topic. I talk about the origins of classic blues and then go on to talk about the artists who performed to this genre. I include supporting information as well as extra information about the subjects that were discussed in their music. My thesis statement is stated at the end of the paragraph. I find that this paragraph is well-written.
I believe that powerlessness in the face of addiction is the downfall to mankind. You are always fighting addiction whether it is from hard drugs to shopping. People that don't believe in themselves will easily fall into the black hole of addiction that is an endless uphill battle to climb out of. The weak will struggle and fall while the strong will overcome. I believe in self-empowerment, and believing in yourself. If you can do this you will overcome all of life’s obstacles. I did not believe in these ideals when I was younger, but I never got addicted to anything because I had people around me that cared about me. It took a tragic event in my life for me to learn to believe in myself.
This paragraph was from a personal narrative paper that I wrote freshman year in Western Heritage. The assignment was to participate in the This I Believe international essay program, where people from around the world write about what they believe in. I feel like this is my best paragraph because I give a strong topic sentence that sets a specific claim. In this paragraph I don't give any hard evidence but I do hint at the evidence to come. I would also consider this my best paragraph because I am writing about something that I take to heart and am a firm believer of.
A lot of people however do not agree with my opinion. They believe that everyone is in charge of their own destiny and what they are shaped by. Patanjali, for example, believes that the decisions you make in your life are the only thing that accounts for the current life they are living no one else. I can understand why people would want to believe that their actions are the only things that determine their identity. To believe this would make it a lot easier because you would not have to worry about anyone but yourself when you make decisions. Although it is easier to think this way it is not right, it is impossible to not be affected by others people’s actions, it is just not in your control. You can see this fact all throughout history. As I stated earlier you can see this in Darfur region, the United States, and other countries. These people were born into a situation that is different than other countries and therefore will be influenced in different ways and have different identities. Even if your mother was an alcoholic and a prosatute and you grow up to be nothing like her; you grow up and have a great family, are successful and never drink in your life the actions of your mother still affect you in your life. This experience will either make you say that is not what I want to be or it will shape you by making you think like your mother. I am not saying that you see it and say that is exactly what I want to be but you just get use to it and it becomes the same opinions and values you have. If you stop and think about the experiences you have had in your life you can relate them back to something that someone in your past has done. It may not be something you can make a connection to right away but if you think about it and stay open minded then you can find a connection.
This is a paragraph of a paper I wrote last year on Malhotra and the Sutras. I think this is a good paragraph because I present the opposing opinion to my own well and then show why I believe what I believe. I think it is structured well and flows well.
This is a paragraph from a paper i wrote about the negative effects of pop culture on women. I think it is a good paragraph because after i state my claim i use valid evidence to back it up.
The media strongly influences the lives and images of many young girls. Looking in a magazine all the models have perfect bodies and seem flawless. Many popular models and actresses are so thin that their appearance gives girls the idea that it is normal to be so emaciated (Hellmich, 1). The models in fashion magazines are usually a size zero, and the average girl is a size 10. According to fashion experts, clothes hang better on a thin frame. The average models are 5-foot-10 or 5-foot-11, weighing about 120 to 124 (Hellmich, 4). After seeing these women it is no wonder that the majority of girls do not like their bodies (Hellmich, 2). The desire to be thin like the models drives many girls to unhealthy habits to control their weight. Bulimia, the binge and purge disorder, and anorexia, or self-starvation, have destructive effects on the body and mind.
Due to a horrendous occurance involving Cup Noodles at the end of my freshman year, all of the year's work was lost, along with my laptop. So I am only able to draw from my (ugh) high school writing (saved on a disk from another lost computer) and my previous semester's work. So, here is is, my best paragraph:
Communication, according to me at least, is anything’s assertion of a message through a variety of channels, whether the sender is alive or inanimate. This definition allows me to postulate that everything, in its very essence, communicates and sends messages all of the time whether they are intentional or not. There are a lot of misunderstandings about communication today due to all of the various models of communication (mind meld, transmission, dialogue, ritual, etc), all of which imply a two way standard give and take process. Communication does not have to be solely person to person, or even sent or received by a person, as our bodies’ organs and brains often communicate with themselves without our conscious say, as in the case of vomiting, pain, sneezing, paranoid delusions, etc. Signs and symbols are important inanimate communicators as well, exacting their power over us at every turn, telling us to stop, where there is danger, or perhaps where someone could stop to shop at the illustrious Wall Drug Store in South Dakota. I believe that signs and symbols as communicators weld the most power in our world, with their clever depictions of blocky people and dangerous things, bridging cultural divides with their universal depictions of danger and gender.
This is from the first paper I wrote in introduction to communication theory with the task of defining "what is communication". I think this is my best paragraph because it has a clearly developed thesis statement along with evidence to back it up. I am also very proud of this paragraph because coming up with a definition of communication is not exactly an easy task, and I think I clearly get my point across using my own unique style of writing.
When graduation neared I was still living, but never feeling as alive as I did at the pavilion. I knew I had to go, to confront the emotions I was trying to suppress. It was frightened, unsure of who I was and what I would find, but I went. Purposefully avoiding the pavilion, I walked around the school grounds. I wasn’t ready. It had been years since I’d been inside Heritage. As I walked in, I felt a certain calm, and yet my heart was racing and I could hardly breathe. I felt resurrected, fully aware of how broken I truly was. I walked into the bathroom; everything was smaller, except the mirror. I stood looking at myself, tears running down my cheeks. Finally able to look inside whom I had become and what I was hiding. I ran. Not away from what I had discovered but from the person I had became. Ran from my numbness, my hatred, my fake happiness. I ran to the pavilion ready to feel, to except, to be released from my prison cell. I laid there for hours, hunched into a ball, on top of the tables, drowning in thoughts I had suppressed for so long. My sight had come back, and I could see the beauty of my sanctuary anew. I was free; my subconscious had taken over. I was a child again; ready to no longer be in control, to find myself, then rollerblade home, believing I had magical powers.
This is my conclusion for a paper I wrote last semester in Writing the Environment. I feel that this is not only the best paragraph I have ever written, but the best paper. I connected with the assignment and truly put everything into it. I I made sure not to leave embarrassing or emotional moments out. I believe that it is the truthfulness and the emotions that makes this my best paragraph.
Due to the convenient crash of my hard drive at the end of last semester, I only have a few papers to select from. I do not consider this my best paragraph by any means, but I believe that the structural content and the flowing nature of the piece creates a good paragraph
Arthur Skinner’s lecture last Wednesday introduced me to a type of art that I had never been exposed to: earthworks. Earthworks are incredible artworks created to be in an out door environment at all times, the structure may be created using manmade materials or objects found in nature and are created to flow with their environment. Karen McCoy’s earthwork titled “Considering Mother’s Mantle” was especially eye-catching to me. Using a natural pond, she created a grid using natural plant life. An encompassing view of the work, allows the viewer to see the rough symmetry of the grid outlined by the leaves on the water’s surface. You can see the imperfect lines intersecting across the glassy water and the sharper shapes of the vegetation surrounding the pond and creating shadows with their spiky growth. A closer view of the grid exposes the delicate grass shooting out of the water and the soft leaves skimming the surface. New lines are introduced as the light changes throughout the day, creating different angles within the piece. McCoy’s motivation for her piece was the nearby development of rural land and the expansion of a neighboring city, she voiced her disfavor by creating a piece that would illustrate the convergence of nature and man, rather than the separation and destruction that comes from overdevelopment. This piece is appealing to me because it is aesthetically soothing and serene, but also because of the subtle environmentalist message.
This paragraph is from a Western Heritage paper. I believe it is my best because it is well-written, clear and articulate.
Over the centuries, societies created customs, traditions, economic systems and cultures which, taken cumulatively, provided the framework of their civilization. The opposite of this, the absence of order, is what existed in primitive times when day to day life was a matter of survival, filled with uncertainty and fear. To avoid chaos and perpetuate stability, societies created mechanisms to inculcate subsequent generations in their society’s values. Educational systems were developed. Religions provided the basis of many values and traditions. But also, governments that wanted an ordered society and were intent on self-preservation created laws and symbols of authority that were passed down from parent to child; economic assumptions were made regarding the value of labor and capital; rules of trade were devised and recorded.
this is one of my best paragraphs: First verse to $outhern $laughta's song "Ballin"
Went to the mall this morning I Was Ballin You shop til you drop but you know I'm never fallin as long as I'm throwin funds I'm still standin I never compromise man Im always name brandin Dropped a little green at the show store got what i need but i still want more so many different colors but the same reebok classics see that pair on display? charge it to the plastic I'm pullin carrots out my hat man forget about them rabbits concentrate on the money not the magic the way i murder these stores is so tragic but what can a baller do i guess its just a habbit Next thing i need is a new fitted lid got the B-town logo and the colors match the skids got my new clothes lookin fly so its time to hit the town v.i.p. in the back heavy j hold me down.
It accomplished exactly what I desired. Funny, clever and clean.
Night is a great example of a period where fear was used to gain power. The Nazi’s controlled the Jewish race by threatening to kill them if they wouldn’t cooperate under their rule. The Jews lived under Nazi rule, not because they agreed with it, but because they were afraid of the consequences of going against the Nazi party. “Fear was greater than hunger” (Wiesel p. 59) Power achieved through fear is transient. The Nazi regime no longer exists, but the Jewish faith is still alive and strong. Power achieved through the bonds of love is enduring. The Nazis not only tormented the Jews through violence but also through starvation. They would promise them food only as a reward for their slave work in the concentration camp. The Jews not only feared the Nazis and but everyone else in the world seemed to be indifferent. “How was it possible that men, women, and children were being burned and the world kept silent?”(Wiesel, p.32) .The Jews were stripped of their identity as human beings and were dominated through the fear that was unrecognized by the rest of the world.
This paragraph, from a recent Western Heritage paper, is on of my strongest for several reasons. In it I do a good job of integrating quotations to support my thesis, which is something I struggle with sometimes. Also, the issue that the paragraph is relating to is a difficult one, and I think that I am able to deal and interact with it well.
I wrote the following paragraph last semester about the book Parliament of Whores by conservative comedian (somehow, not an oxymoron) P.J. O’Rourke:
"However, just as I was warming up to O’Rourke’s libertarian/conservative ideas there were some arguments that caused me almost to wholly reject his philosophy; I recognize that this was mainly as a result of my historical vantage point. For example, I was shocked at his suggestion that with what he perceived as our military success in Panama – requiring less than one percent of the defense budget – we had the capability to “oust 150 tin-pot dictators a year”; needless to say, this has been exposed as an incredibly foolish idea in current light of the fact that after invading the two countries of Iraq and Afghanistan the American military has been left desperately overstretched. Additionally, the final bill of that invasion will most likely number in the trillions of dollars (and I am solely considering the realpolitik reasons to refrain from participating in such coups and invasions; of course there are also ethical reasons I reject O’Rourke’s gung-ho humor – dogmatic liberal or not, I am still against the concept of violence as a first resort). I also reject the ideas of O’Rourke’s chapter “Dirt of the Earth: The Ecologists”, in which he essentially concludes that modern environmentalists are wrongheaded because they defend a misguided Romantic notion of the goodness of nature; O’Rourke views these ideas as contrary to the principles of civilization that demand development of and conquering of nature. In the years since Parliament of Whores was written enough data has emerged verifying the suspicion that human actions can and most likely will cause the earth to become much less hospitable to humans in the foreseeable future; as a result, I unwaveringly back a statist approach to dealing with environmental issues, seeing the mainstream conservative meme of 'individual responsibility' to be anachronistic and deluded."
I think that this paragraph is effective because it begins with a specific position and goes on to explain the evidence that supports that position. The paragraph begins by establishing my final, negative feeling towards O’Rourke’s book, goes on to lay out O’Rourke’s specific positions that I disagreed with and after each of these positions states my respective rebuttals (giving evidence to support them). The paragraph does not have abundant quotes to support the argument, but evidence for my positions is present, the prose is lucid and the paragraph's approach is systematic. Because of this, I feel that this is a strong paragraph.
Stephanie's Paragraph:
ReplyDeleteOne of my best paragraphs: (Introduction to a Research paper on Classic Blues)
The early 20th century marked a time where music from different cultures combined to
create the genre called classic blues. The blues are ?a vocal form whose origins derive
from African American traditions and date from sometime in the 19th century,? (Ferris
196). Field hollers from the times of slavery expanded into simple solo songs, full of
emotional content and highly expressive of their loneliness and pain. Prior to classic
blues, men sang rural or country blues throughout the country. Each stanza in the song
had three lines, and each line had four measures or bars (twelve-bar blues). This part of
the blues is the only American contribution to musical form. Blues singers adopted the
African custom of singing flexible notes to create fluid, emotionally expressive melodic
lines. The ?vocal and instrumental scoops and slides or glissandos also derived from
African-American singing,? (Ferris 197). Two artists that changed the sound of the blues
genre were Bessie Smith and Gertrude ?Ma? Rainey. They formalized rural blues into
classic blues and sang about the conditions of their environment. Poverty, alcoholism,
domestic violence, and love were some of the subjects that were addressed in their
lyrics. Ultimately, their music was a reflection of the status quo and derived from
African-American and Anglo-American music.
I believe that this paragraph is very strong in that the first sentence introduces the
topic. I talk about the origins of classic blues and then go on to talk about the artists
who performed to this genre. I include supporting information as well as extra
information about the subjects that were discussed in their music. My thesis statement is
stated at the end of the paragraph. I find that this paragraph is well-written.
My Best Paragraph :
ReplyDeleteI believe that powerlessness in the face of addiction is the downfall to mankind. You are always fighting addiction whether it is from hard drugs to shopping. People that don't believe in themselves will easily fall into the black hole of addiction that is an endless uphill battle to climb out of. The weak will struggle and fall while the strong will overcome. I believe in self-empowerment, and believing in yourself. If you can do this you will overcome all of life’s obstacles. I did not believe in these ideals when I was younger, but I never got addicted to anything because I had people around me that cared about me. It took a tragic event in my life for me to learn to believe in myself.
This paragraph was from a personal narrative paper that I wrote freshman year in Western Heritage. The assignment was to participate in the This I Believe international essay program, where people from around the world write about what they believe in. I feel like this is my best paragraph because I give a strong topic sentence that sets a specific claim. In this paragraph I don't give any hard evidence but I do hint at the evidence to come. I would also consider this my best paragraph because I am writing about something that I take to heart and am a firm believer of.
A lot of people however do not agree with my opinion. They believe that everyone is in charge of their own destiny and what they are shaped by. Patanjali, for example, believes that the decisions you make in your life are the only thing that accounts for the current life they are living no one else. I can understand why people would want to believe that their actions are the only things that determine their identity. To believe this would make it a lot easier because you would not have to worry about anyone but yourself when you make decisions. Although it is easier to think this way it is not right, it is impossible to not be affected by others people’s actions, it is just not in your control. You can see this fact all throughout history. As I stated earlier you can see this in Darfur region, the United States, and other countries. These people were born into a situation that is different than other countries and therefore will be influenced in different ways and have different identities. Even if your mother was an alcoholic and a prosatute and you grow up to be nothing like her; you grow up and have a great family, are successful and never drink in your life the actions of your mother still affect you in your life. This experience will either make you say that is not what I want to be or it will shape you by making you think like your mother. I am not saying that you see it and say that is exactly what I want to be but you just get use to it and it becomes the same opinions and values you have. If you stop and think about the experiences you have had in your life you can relate them back to something that someone in your past has done. It may not be something you can make a connection to right away but if you think about it and stay open minded then you can find a connection.
ReplyDeleteThis is a paragraph of a paper I wrote last year on Malhotra and the Sutras. I think this is a good paragraph because I present the opposing opinion to my own well and then show why I believe what I believe. I think it is structured well and flows well.
This is a paragraph from a paper i wrote about the negative effects of pop culture on women. I think it is a good paragraph because after i state my claim i use valid evidence to back it up.
ReplyDeleteThe media strongly influences the lives and images of many young girls. Looking in a magazine all the models have perfect bodies and seem flawless. Many popular models and actresses are so thin that their appearance gives girls the idea that it is normal to be so emaciated (Hellmich, 1). The models in fashion magazines are usually a size zero, and the average girl is a size 10. According to fashion experts, clothes hang better on a thin frame. The average models are 5-foot-10 or 5-foot-11, weighing about 120 to 124 (Hellmich, 4). After seeing these women it is no wonder that the majority of girls do not like their bodies (Hellmich, 2). The desire to be thin like the models drives many girls to unhealthy habits to control their weight. Bulimia, the binge and purge disorder, and anorexia, or self-starvation, have destructive effects on the body and mind.
Due to a horrendous occurance involving Cup Noodles at the end of my freshman year, all of the year's work was lost, along with my laptop. So I am only able to draw from my (ugh) high school writing (saved on a disk from another lost computer) and my previous semester's work. So, here is is, my best paragraph:
ReplyDeleteCommunication, according to me at least, is anything’s assertion of a message through a variety of channels, whether the sender is alive or inanimate. This definition allows me to postulate that everything, in its very essence, communicates and sends messages all of the time whether they are intentional or not. There are a lot of misunderstandings about communication today due to all of the various models of communication (mind meld, transmission, dialogue, ritual, etc), all of which imply a two way standard give and take process. Communication does not have to be solely person to person, or even sent or received by a person, as our bodies’ organs and brains often communicate with themselves without our conscious say, as in the case of vomiting, pain, sneezing, paranoid delusions, etc. Signs and symbols are important inanimate communicators as well, exacting their power over us at every turn, telling us to stop, where there is danger, or perhaps where someone could stop to shop at the illustrious Wall Drug Store in South Dakota. I believe that signs and symbols as communicators weld the most power in our world, with their clever depictions of blocky people and dangerous things, bridging cultural divides with their universal depictions of danger and gender.
This is from the first paper I wrote in introduction to communication theory with the task of defining "what is communication". I think this is my best paragraph because it has a clearly developed thesis statement along with evidence to back it up. I am also very proud of this paragraph because coming up with a definition of communication is not exactly an easy task, and I think I clearly get my point across using my own unique style of writing.
When graduation neared I was still living, but never feeling as alive as I did at the pavilion. I knew I had to go, to confront the emotions I was trying to suppress. It was frightened, unsure of who I was and what I would find, but I went. Purposefully avoiding the pavilion, I walked around the school grounds. I wasn’t ready. It had been years since I’d been inside Heritage. As I walked in, I felt a certain calm, and yet my heart was racing and I could hardly breathe. I felt resurrected, fully aware of how broken I truly was. I walked into the bathroom; everything was smaller, except the mirror. I stood looking at myself, tears running down my cheeks. Finally able to look inside whom I had become and what I was hiding. I ran. Not away from what I had discovered but from the person I had became. Ran from my numbness, my hatred, my fake happiness. I ran to the pavilion ready to feel, to except, to be released from my prison cell. I laid there for hours, hunched into a ball, on top of the tables, drowning in thoughts I had suppressed for so long. My sight had come back, and I could see the beauty of my sanctuary anew. I was free; my subconscious had taken over. I was a child again; ready to no longer be in control, to find myself, then rollerblade home, believing I had magical powers.
ReplyDeleteThis is my conclusion for a paper I wrote last semester in Writing the Environment. I feel that this is not only the best paragraph I have ever written, but the best paper. I connected with the assignment and truly put everything into it. I I made sure not to leave embarrassing or emotional moments out. I believe that it is the truthfulness and the emotions that makes this my best paragraph.
Due to the convenient crash of my hard drive at the end of last semester, I only have a few papers to select from. I do not consider this my best paragraph by any means, but I believe that the structural content and the flowing nature of the piece creates a good paragraph
ReplyDeleteArthur Skinner’s lecture last Wednesday introduced me to a type of art that I had never been exposed to: earthworks. Earthworks are incredible artworks created to be in an out door environment at all times, the structure may be created using manmade materials or objects found in nature and are created to flow with their environment. Karen McCoy’s earthwork titled “Considering Mother’s Mantle” was especially eye-catching to me. Using a natural pond, she created a grid using natural plant life. An encompassing view of the work, allows the viewer to see the rough symmetry of the grid outlined by the leaves on the water’s surface. You can see the imperfect lines intersecting across the glassy water and the sharper shapes of the vegetation surrounding the pond and creating shadows with their spiky growth. A closer view of the grid exposes the delicate grass shooting out of the water and the soft leaves skimming the surface. New lines are introduced as the light changes throughout the day, creating different angles within the piece. McCoy’s motivation for her piece was the nearby development of rural land and the expansion of a neighboring city, she voiced her disfavor by creating a piece that would illustrate the convergence of nature and man, rather than the separation and destruction that comes from overdevelopment. This piece is appealing to me because it is aesthetically soothing and serene, but also because of the subtle environmentalist message.
This paragraph is from a Western Heritage paper. I believe it is my best because it is well-written, clear and articulate.
ReplyDeleteOver the centuries, societies created customs, traditions, economic systems and cultures which, taken cumulatively, provided the framework of their civilization. The opposite of this, the absence of order, is what existed in primitive times when day to day life was a matter of survival, filled with uncertainty and fear. To avoid chaos and perpetuate stability, societies created mechanisms to inculcate subsequent generations in their society’s values. Educational systems were developed. Religions provided the basis of many values and traditions. But also, governments that wanted an ordered society and were intent on self-preservation created laws and symbols of authority that were passed down from parent to child; economic assumptions were made regarding the value of labor and capital; rules of trade were devised and recorded.
this is one of my best paragraphs: First verse to $outhern $laughta's song "Ballin"
ReplyDeleteWent to the mall this morning
I Was Ballin
You shop til you drop
but you know I'm never fallin
as long as I'm throwin funds
I'm still standin
I never compromise man
Im always name brandin
Dropped a little green at the show store
got what i need but i still want more
so many different colors
but the same reebok classics
see that pair on display?
charge it to the plastic
I'm pullin carrots out my hat man
forget about them rabbits
concentrate on the money
not the magic
the way i murder these stores is so tragic
but what can a baller do
i guess its just a habbit
Next thing i need is a new fitted lid
got the B-town logo
and the colors match the skids
got my new clothes lookin fly
so its time to hit the town
v.i.p. in the back
heavy j hold me down.
It accomplished exactly what I desired. Funny, clever and clean.
Night is a great example of a period where fear was used to gain power. The Nazi’s controlled the Jewish race by threatening to kill them if they wouldn’t cooperate under their rule. The Jews lived under Nazi rule, not because they agreed with it, but because they were afraid of the consequences of going against the Nazi party. “Fear was greater than hunger” (Wiesel p. 59) Power achieved through fear is transient. The Nazi regime no longer exists, but the Jewish faith is still alive and strong. Power achieved through the bonds of love is enduring. The Nazis not only tormented the Jews through violence but also through starvation. They would promise them food only as a reward for their slave work in the concentration camp. The Jews not only feared the Nazis and but everyone else in the world seemed to be indifferent. “How was it possible that men, women, and children were being burned and the world kept silent?”(Wiesel, p.32) .The Jews were stripped of their identity as human beings and were dominated through the fear that was unrecognized by the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteThis paragraph, from a recent Western Heritage paper, is on of my strongest for several reasons. In it I do a good job of integrating quotations to support my thesis, which is something I struggle with sometimes. Also, the issue that the paragraph is relating to is a difficult one, and I think that I am able to deal and interact with it well.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI wrote the following paragraph last semester about the book Parliament of Whores by conservative comedian (somehow, not an oxymoron) P.J. O’Rourke:
ReplyDelete"However, just as I was warming up to O’Rourke’s libertarian/conservative ideas there were some arguments that caused me almost to wholly reject his philosophy; I recognize that this was mainly as a result of my historical vantage point. For example, I was shocked at his suggestion that with what he perceived as our military success in Panama – requiring less than one percent of the defense budget – we had the capability to “oust 150 tin-pot dictators a year”; needless to say, this has been exposed as an incredibly foolish idea in current light of the fact that after invading the two countries of Iraq and Afghanistan the American military has been left desperately overstretched. Additionally, the final bill of that invasion will most likely number in the trillions of dollars (and I am solely considering the realpolitik reasons to refrain from participating in such coups and invasions; of course there are also ethical reasons I reject O’Rourke’s gung-ho humor – dogmatic liberal or not, I am still against the concept of violence as a first resort). I also reject the ideas of O’Rourke’s chapter “Dirt of the Earth: The Ecologists”, in which he essentially concludes that modern environmentalists are wrongheaded because they defend a misguided Romantic notion of the goodness of nature; O’Rourke views these ideas as contrary to the principles of civilization that demand development of and conquering of nature. In the years since Parliament of Whores was written enough data has emerged verifying the suspicion that human actions can and most likely will cause the earth to become much less hospitable to humans in the foreseeable future; as a result, I unwaveringly back a statist approach to dealing with environmental issues, seeing the mainstream conservative meme of 'individual responsibility' to be anachronistic and deluded."
I think that this paragraph is effective because it begins with a specific position and goes on to explain the evidence that supports that position. The paragraph begins by establishing my final, negative feeling towards O’Rourke’s book, goes on to lay out O’Rourke’s specific positions that I disagreed with and after each of these positions states my respective rebuttals (giving evidence to support them). The paragraph does not have abundant quotes to support the argument, but evidence for my positions is present, the prose is lucid and the paragraph's approach is systematic. Because of this, I feel that this is a strong paragraph.