Rhetorical Square

Brooks: “We don’t really care about diversity all that much in America, even though we talk about it a great deal” is the thesis of David Brooks’ piece. The audience for the author seems to be people who have no idea as to why they live where they do, or those who have not looked at the culture and environment around them. Brooks appears to have a humorous side to him which comes out in his slight barbs about Washington, D.C. lawyers or Boulder, Colorado. I was reminded of a study that said that children as young as three or four start to close of their social circles to those that are like themselves, closing off from other races and genders at times. Reciting facts about the democratic leanings of Ivy League professors was not surprising, along with other facts, but leant some trustworthiness among the audience.

Cole: “We are notoriously bad at assessing risk” is the central idea of K.C. Cole’s essay. The writer is targeting the average American or person who is familiar with Americans in general. The cultural context is required to understand the TWA Flight 800 tragedy and ensuing botched investigation, or that driving 80 mph anyplace is generally a bad idea. Cole cites facts at an extremely fast pace. All are interesting, if true, and the frantic speed at which the reader must keep up adds to the feeling that there are way too many measures we as a society take to guard from risks that have not been well thought out.