Precis #1

Attached is the extremely rough draft of my first precis. This was written on the article we read in class entitled "Obama's Redistributive Change and the Death of Freedom".

Precis #1

            Arthur C McCarthy, writer for the National Review Online, in his article “Obama’s ‘Redistributive Change’ and the Death of Freedom”, declares that the president is trying to socialize the American economy and government. In fact, he states that “Obama has twisted the most elementary points” of American government (McCarthy).

            McCarthy utilizes three rhetorical devices in order to better support his thesis. He utilizes an appeal to ethos to prove that Obama’s ideas on how the government works. He states that Obama believes economic justice is “what government must do on your behalf’; however, the “question is not what government must do on your behalf’ rather “[i]t is what the government must do on our behalf”(ibid.). McCarthy also employs personification when describing how the American government works by stating that “[g]overnment does not inherently have anything to give...[w]hat it awards you it must seize from me”(ibid.). Finally, he employs an analogy as he compares himself to Michael Jordan saying that he “had every opportunity to become just as good a basketball player as Michael Jordan, but [Jordan] has natural gifts and worked harder”; the only way Jordan would be unsuccessful would be if he were chained to a bench and “render[ed] the game no longer recognizable as basketball”(McCarthy).

            Arthur McCarthy employs indignant diction. He sternly states if we allow Obama to continue enforce his ideal of economic justice “freedom, the ideal that makes America America, will have perished”(ibid.). His extremely bold claim against the president and his ideals reveals his strong reaction to the injustice he feels Obama has created for America, contributing to his critical tone. Syntactically, he utilizes a colon as he explains his analogy given in the sentences before, “this is just what Obama’s “economic justice” envisions: that the government can hamstring Michael Jordan and give me enough freebies that…he can only play me to a tie, destroying his incentive to excel while the Bulls go out of business”(ibid.). The semicolon introduces a situation that McCarthy feels Obama has put America in, one where the government diminishes the hard work of the rich and/or middle-class just to improve the lives of those that don’t nearly work as hard as others, causing the economy to completely fail. This contributes to his critical tone against Obama and his plans to somehow boost the economy.

            I qualify with McCarthy’s argument against Obama and his economic goals and plans. McCarthy states that the “[g]overnment does not inherently have anything to give”(ibid.). The government does not owe the people it governs anything but justice and honesty. It is not the government’s duty to make sure everyone in America is distributed the same amount of money; however, it is the government’s duty to protect its people. Although it is true that “[f]reedom…includes the freedom to fail,” the government should make an effort to help those that fail get back on their feet again and reach a level of stability where they are able to do for themselves. While I agree that is unfair to force the government and those that have worked hard for their money and success to “babysit” those that care to do nothing, I also believe that it is a responsibility of the government to help those who have fallen reach a level of permanence where they are able to make their own money and success.