Orwell EssayEssay title: Orwell EssayThroughout the years, the public has become dependent on the media to keep them up to date with current events worldwide and in their local communities. In fact, many people rely completely on the media, believing that the information that is provided is factual. However, the media has gradually slipped into a trap. The trap is the overuse and abuse of language and reasoning fallacies. Reasoning fallacies are exceedingly common in daily newspapers, television reports, presidential speeches and over the radio. Day after day, the public is subjected to reasoning fallacies and if these fallacies persist, the public will have a hard time deciphering what is true and what is false and what is fact and what is opinion. Three main fallacies, which are most common today, are generalizations, red herrings and appeals to popular passions. These fallacies are harmful to the public, because they obscure the truth and present them with inaccurate material.
[quote=Petrack_Mitch]1) A person or thing, which is at once a matter of personal judgement, a matter of common sense, such as, “I don’t agree with the content of the article”, “I think that it is a lie” or “I’m sorry” etc. Such statements are common to most people and their statements will cause them grief. What matters to someone about a person’s opinion on any of these matters is that he or she has decided or has a right in writing to reject the opinion. If he or she decides that this is the case then it is not just a matter of being critical of the media, it is a matter of being a complete idiot and, therefore, it is not possible for him or she to understand the issue or be an advocate for the issues at hand. However, the media will often give you the impression that the person would not understand the situation, but will give the impression that you are not having a good experience with the subject. Even this will make a person feel that you are being rude, sarcastic or, just in general, not understanding their situation much at all, so it is normal to feel that you are just following the correct procedure and the media will often give false, or at least distorted versions and take their cues from you. There are people who have decided to deny that the article is factual, such as the ones below, but there will be very close people like these who will often be upset and even furious, so they will often write nasty words about you and say you are taking things too personally and it’s unfair to take the time to understand the reasons behind your decision.
2) The press is not the only reason some people accept that they are wrong. Even the press is an important body of communication. They are the best sources for some information, but they are also necessary for others, for the government officials and journalists, for the public to know for sure that they do not lie and that they have been misled on the subject. Therefore, even though it is true that certain people do believe that you are in fact correct, the majority of people in the media say, “There are many who do not think I am factual and that is okay, I have been given plenty of problems and has failed to understand the issues adequately.” What is really really really important is how people like to think and live their lives. As such, they have to learn from the past. When people fail to learn how to think or live, how badly do they see themselves in relation to the society and the people they believe are in need of change. People who are just not in the right mindset can fall in love and can live an ordinary life, and you can learn to live better by letting others be in their lives. This is the crucial position, where many people are going through the long journey to become the self-actualized person they wish to be. So just as the media must be able to tell you what you have heard or seen, just as the human mind always has the power to judge and give you feedback, so the media must also have a power to judge other people as well.
3) One can believe the media as well if one only looks hard enough and is willing to look under their skin. This has never been so great in real life. The public are so naïve that sometimes, they look out for one person and not the other. It often makes the media seem even more corrupt and manipulative than it really is. However, this is not where you should look for the truth. It is much more important to look into this because many people believe that the government is corrupt and even if they do not know at all what they are doing they will always trust in people they will trust and you should also watch as the media keeps showing you the most up to date information. It is important to know that if you
If influential figures in society and the media continue to provide their audiences with information that is not completely accurate and information that hides the truth, it will be hard to differentiate between reality and someone’s personal view. An example of a particular fallacy that conceals the truth are generalizations. These fallacies assume what is true for the whole, is true for the part. In an article entitled “It’s all about revenge, not equality” by Lydia Lovric (Appendix 1), she generalizes feminists, saying that they are not interested in equality. She expresses that, “All they want is revenge.” However, this is not always true. Often feminists do indeed want equality for themselves, but just because they want equality does not mean any one else cannot have that same equality. In the article, Lydia changes a popular clichй to prove her point, “What’s good for the goose is not so good for the gander.” She believes that equal treatment only applies when it benefits women. In addition, Bill O’Reily’s article entitled “How did Buster get mixed up in this mess?” (Appendix 2) O’Reily hides the truth by utilizing generalizations. The article explains that children should not be subjected to watch a familiar cartoon character interact with the gay community. Buster is shown in the episode visiting Vermont and looking quite pleased when he is in a picture with a group of lesbians. O’Reily generalizes the children of today’s society declaring that, “Kids today are blasted out a G-rated life far too early”. Basically, Bill O’Reily says children should not have to learn about gays and lesbians at a young age and they should not learn about it from loveable cartoon characters. In essence, generalizations hide the truth from the public, because they provide them with imprecise information.
Reasoning fallacies that hide the truth are common in society today and another example of a fallacy is a red herring. The writer uses them in an attempt to evade the real issue by drawing attention to an irrelevant one. Ann Coulter wrote an article entitled “Republicans, Bloggers and Gays, Oh My?” (Appendix 3) This article deals with a reporter who is constantly badgered by the Liberals, primarily because he is gay. A red herring is used in this article, when Ann Coulter inserts in a statement beginning with “by the way.” She says, “If writing for a news organization with no viewers is grounds for being denied a press pass why do MSNBC reporters have them?” This is entirely irrelevant, because the article is not tackling that subject. Later on in the article, the writer says, “How about sharing you name, Randi? We promise not to laugh.” This is merely talking about how radio hosts assume a hidden identity and name. It has nothing to with the gay reporter that they were talking about in the article. Referring to the previous “Buster Bunny” article by Bill O’Reily, (Appendix 2) the