8 Classes Later...

            Since the start of the semester, there have been eight Rhetoric classes. Only 640 minutes of class have passed since that very first day. And yet, I can already see Gore’s statement coming true.

            Day one, we talked about Al Gore’s forward in American Earth, “A truth eloquently expressed has an influence greater than any elected official” (xvii). We had our typical debate about how well-written literature has a far reaching impact, more impartial to outside influence then anything a politician has to say. Politicians have their own interests in mind: the percentage of support, the possibility of reelection, the scandal he may or may not cause from one piece of legislature, etc. Environmental writing, or any writing, has an agenda. The pieces that we’ve been reading are trying their hardest point out how glorious nature is and how we seem to abuse it thoughtlessly a lot of the time. This was our first day conversation.

            Since then, especially during the past few classes, I watched the truth of Gore’s statement unfold in front of my eyes. Dr. Morris had us do a Nature Experiment where we sat in the middle of nature for an hour and recorded our feelings and actions during that time. Simple assignment…big unexpected impact amongst my peers, it seems. Pardon me while I name drop.

            Amber was so affected by the readings we’ve done that she is making a conscious effort to be more natural, to spend more time in nature. She specifically said the word “impacted” when she shared her news with the class. This means, Amber found the writings so inspiring and influential that she has changed her life accordingly.

            Another girl just today, Alex, shared how negative her Nature Experiment was. There was garbage abandoned in this spot which was held on a pedestal in her mind from when she was there as a child. She found the experiment horrifying and upsetting, rather than relaxing and eye-opening like other students. But for today’s assignment, we were to have read a few selections of Borroughs. Alex shared with the class that the work “impacted” her to such an extent that she wants to try the experiment again and see different things this time around.

            Gore was right. In just a few classes, with inspirational readings and thought provoking class discussion, at least two students were changed from it. I haven’t once heard a student come in and rhapsodize over a new law some politician made. Except for some brief discussion of fracking early on, politicians haven’t made it into the discussions at all. I was just extremely pleased to see the development amongst my peers, myself included.

Aretha Franklin Had It Right

            It seems like such a simple topic but it really stuck with me after today’s discussion in class: respect, not just for people, but for the earth around us. People go to such extremes to make sure that the things they own are taken care of and in tip-top condition. In my old neighborhood, my neighbors mowed every four days or so to make sure that their lawn was in peak condition. This, of course, made it brown and crunchy; but they still spent hours of their time and unknown amounts of money to keep their lawn pristine. Like Inky said in class, people in her neighborhood do everything they can to make sure kids aren’t on their lawn and messing up their grass. Their theory: my grass, my property, mine mine mine. But somehow there’s a disconnect between what we own and what’s considered public. There’s such a disregard for the wellbeing of a public park or a public walkway solely because a person’s name isn’t on a deed.

            Since starting this class, I’ve found myself stopping to pick up trash along my walk to and from my apartment. I’ll be walking with my friends and suddenly I’ll wander off to pick up a plastic bottle, an abandoned plastic bag, or whatever else I happen upon. I can hear the confusion trickle amongst my friends when they realize I’m not with them anymore. “Oh, just Caitlin pick up trash…again. Our little do-gooder.” Not that they intend to mock me, but there’s still an uneasiness with them when I stop to take care of trash. No, the walkway is public and no, I have no personal interest in it…but I do. I have personal interest because I find it extremely disrespectful to just toss trash around. Ew, germs, yeah. There’s that. It’s called washing your hands when you get back to a sink. I see people throwing cigarette butts out in the grass rather then walking an extra 20 steps to put it in a proper receptacle. No one with a brain would do something like that if they were smoking at their house. You wouldn’t find them abandoning cigarette butts on their lawn like that with such sick, careless disregard.

            All of this is based on respect, and how far that respect will drive you to do something. My roommate is a recycling fanatic. We all giggle at her, but I do honestly respect the intense effort my friend makes. She dug out my empty shaving can from the bathroom trash just last week. We have several bags in the front walkway labeled “General Recycling” (things that can be recycled elsewhere on campus: plastic bottles, cans, paper) or “Lititz Recycling” (cardboard, colored bottles, styrafoam). We’ve barely gone through three bags of legitimate trash since the start of the school year since so much of it we’re determined to recycle. She has an intense respect for the earth and the scarily limited resources we’re all burning through. I’m quickly becoming a recycling fanatic myself. Because I respect private and public land, I want to make sure it’s beautiful.

            So no, I don’t “own” the land. But I belong to the land. I respect it and only fools disregard this phenomenal spinning marble.

Rhapsodic Love Story to Nature

     The selection we read of John Muir's work starts off with "A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf," a rather biting commentary about the misconceptions humans have about the Earth. I enjoy a good sarcastic or satiric piece of literature, so it was a fun read. But then I got to "A Wind-Storm in the Forests" and fell in love with this author. He wields his words like an artist his brush. The passionate adoration he has for the wind storm that passes through the forest where he's staying is breathtaking. I could see every step he took and feel his excitement over this natural occurrence like electricity. He looks to the trees as the strongest of giants, "going with the flow" of everything and surviving. Muir isn't trying to control or change the nature around him. Instead, he sees himself as this limited, insignificant human among the vast, magical trees.
     He paints gorgeous images of how different trees react to the storm: some bend to severe angles in the wind like a pliable ballerina doing a difficult dance routine, others shiver and shake like a bobble-head doll. He shouts bold colors at you, so you don't miss the power in their strength as well as their appearance. "...foliage was tinged with yellow; the laurel groves, with the pale undersides of their leaves turned upward, made masses of gray; then there was many a day of chocolate color from clumps of manzanita, a jet of vivid crimson from the bark of the madronos...displayed masses of pale purple and brown" (Muir 95). Someone would typically describe such a scene with more subdued colors: browns and faded reds intermingling with stained yellows. But he goes for power!
     He, foolishly in my opinion, climbs to the top of a Douglas Spruce to truly experience the strength of the trees and the invisible might of the wind. As I was reading, I would picture myself in a similar position to his, albeit much closer to the ground. And as the wind storm passed me by, I imagined the scent it would carry. Muir isn't one to leave out such an important element, either. "The fragrance of the woods was less marked than that produced during warm rain, when so many balsamic buds and leaves are steeped like tea; but from the chafing of resiny branches against each other, and the incessant attrition of myriads of needles, the gale was spiced to a very tonic degree" (Muir 95-6).
     I was just struck by the awe he had for this natural force and his appreciation for something no one can ever control. People love to bowl over vasts expanses of trees and shrubs to make way for condominiums and shopping centers. I've watched over my lifetime the farm lands around me and the natural landscapes in my hometown disappear to put in more housing or construct a Target. People only see the land for what they can get from it materially, not what they can experience from it emotionally or spiritually. People don't just stop and feel anymore. I appreciated Muir's experience.

Thoreau's Theory on Formal Education

As my first real contact with the writing of Henry David Thoreau, I was pleased to find I didn’t dislike Walden. I just read Emerson’s Nature for another class and fought to get through it. I found his ideas organized but obnoxiously complex and difficult to fully comprehend. So I enjoyed Thoreau much more. I like that Thoreau’s ideas ran in the same vein as Emerson’s but they’re more realistically applicable with clearer examples.

            Personal side note: I appreciate Thoreau’s humor. The introduction text reads, “As he neared death his aunt Louisa asked him if he had made his peace with God. ‘I did not know we have ever quarreled.’” I perceive a man with a sense of humor as a more trustworthy person.

            I found his opinion of formal education rather interesting. As a poor college student myself, I was struck by his style of persuasion by bringing up money. People are always willing to stop and listen if their wallets are involved. He notes that he spent $28 to build his entire home in the woods, which is approximately what a person would have spent on housing at school each year. This ticks off an alarm that says, “I’m spending in rent for school housing what it would cost me to build four of my own homes.” That’s a thought to pause over. Then he goes into the minute details of building his home, all of which was foreign to me. I know little to nothing about construction, which he points out is a vital disconnect with people. You live in a house that you paid for but have no appreciation for it, as you didn’t build it yourself. You can’t find pride in the tight locking junctures or the waterproof roof. Formal education exercises your mind to expand and learn different or foreign things. Yet, there is little to no hands-on experience that you can utilize in your lifetime. I took it to heart, as I am new in my profession. I spent last spring semester in two paralegal courses. The professors discussed contracts and tickler systems and the computer systems and filing and research and…the list goes on. The information expanded my mind, of course. But textbook information will leave you high and dry unless you know how to put it into a real life situation. Only after I obtained a job as a legal secretary during the summer did I fully understand the knowledge I was taught in school. I paid thousands of dollars to reiterate the knowledge that didn’t truly mean anything to me until I could physically touch and use.

Audience

     This was brought up in class and I was really taken with the idea: audience. It started with the discussion of whether or not Al Gore was an appropriate person to have write a Forward for American Earth. When I sat and thought about both sides, I couldn't come up with a good answer. On one hand, Al Gore knows what he is talking about. He studied the environment in college before he was ever a politician. He is well-informed and trustworthy on this topic. But does that make him a good candidate for the Forward? Technically, he is a perfect man for the job. Those who know about him understand his qualifications and would gladly read what he has to say. At the same time, Al Gore's political background can be an asset as well. People who enjoyed him as a politician, who voted for him, would certainly be more inclined to hear what American Earth has to say because of Gore's endorsement. However, there is also a negative side to this strategy. If someone considers himself an environmentalist and enjoys environmental literature, he may be put off by having a "corrupt" politician endorsing this novel. It is no secret that many Americans see politicians as nothing but corrupt, backstabbing elitists who act with their own singular intentions in mind, rather than for the greater good. So an environmentalist with a distrust and distaste for government officials may be extremely put off by Gore's Forward. Similar for someone who may pick up this book who is not an environmentalist. It could be a case of curiosity: picking up the book in a library and skimming through it. The person may be less inclined to read American Earth solely because of Gore's endorsement. Their political beliefs may lean more toward the conservative or Republican side, making any argument Gore has a moot point to them just because of his political stances in the past. It is disheartening to see politics draw a line in the sand over what should be a human issue. American Earth really needs to know its audience to understand the risk it is taking by employing Al Gore to write the Forward.
     This branches out for everyday rhetorical arguments people make. From a personal standpoint, my friends and I act as therapists and guidance counselors for one another. I will go to, say, my friend Kate and ask for advice on taking one class over another. She knows me well enough (as I will be her audience) to know what tactics to use to help me decide. I am generally a more logical person. So Kate knows to use logic and facts rather then fear or emotion to sway me. If she says a certain class has a lot of reading but it is manageable, I will take that information into weight. If she says the professor is super nice and the class always lets out early, I don't give such information as much power in my decision. Same goes for when my brother and I get into intellectual discussions about religion or politics. Facts and statistics mean more to him then anything. If I argue, "I have no real fact, but I just know something else has to exist," he disregards it. I'm not utilizing the proper rhetoric for my audience.
     When deciding on your audience, I find it a fascinating psychological study of humans. It is amassing all the information you know about a certain group of people and making (hopefully accurate) assumptions about them. Only then can you appropriately decide how to approach a topic to gain the end in which you desire. The most amazing thing about all of this: humans, on a daily basis, are gauging their audience before they speak. Otherwise, their rhetoric will fall on deaf ears and create massive amounts of wasted air.