Outline for Resurrection of the Dream

Karly Walton
Persuasive Speech

Resurrection of the Dream 

Intro: 

Thesis: Today I hope to aid remembrance on what the American Dream truly is and aid perseverance.

 1. Origins of our dream aka the social contract

-Thomas Hobbes/Leviathan

--"poor, nasty, brutish, short"

--"because of the way of one competitor, of attaining his desires, is to kill, subdue, supplant, or repel the other"

-John Locke/Second Treatise of Government

--"men being all equal and independent, ought not to harm another in his life liberty or possessions. 

--"Where there is no law, there is no freedom. For freedom is to be free of restraint and violence from others".

2. appreciation of our governing system

-Thomas Jefferson 

--declaration of independence (basic rights) 

-brilliancies of constitution.
3. Fallacies of Modern Dream
-Apathy
--"of the people, by the people, for the people" (Lincoln)
-Entitlement
--"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" (Kennedy)
-freedom is not free
-manifest destiny
4. initiative towards improvement
-ambition & elbow grease
-we are all accountable
--"I ask you, to join in a reUnited States were we empower our citizens to take care of their own lives, in a world were everyone counts. We need a new spirit of community, a sense we are all in this together, or the American dream will continue to wither. Our destiny is bound of with every American." (Clinton)
-regards to audience/conclusion.

References:
Clinton, Bill.(Nov 4, 1992). U.S. Democratic President Speech, given in Littlerock Arkansas. As quoted in           the Guardian. (London, Nov 5, 1992).
Hobbes, Thomas.(2002). The Leviathan. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications Inc.
Kennedy, J.F. "Ask Not" speech. Youtube.com
Lincoln, Abraham. Gettysburg Address. Abrahamlincolnonline.org.
Locke, John.(2002). The Second Treatise on Government. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications Inc.

Presidential Renion (Political)

Funny or Die's Presidential Reunion is an exemplary example of the dialogical approach. This video features a variety of SNL stars cast as former presidents:
Barack Obama- Fred Armisen
Michell Obama- Michelle Rudolph
George Bush Jr.- Will Ferrell
George Bush Sr.- Dana Carvey
Bill Clinton- Darrell Hammond
Jimmy Carter- Dan Aykroyd
Gerald Ford- Chevy Chase
Ronald Reagan- Jim Carrey
This star studded cast brings forth vast credibility to this video. Although the conversation between the presidents is where the true persuasion resides. The dialogue between the presidents is not only hilarious, but still some-what in line with what we'd expect these presidents to say on the matter.
Despite how most comments are said to be funny, there is a serious message behind this video.
Lets walk through the dialogue:
The video starts with Obama saying "i'm tired of getting my butt kicked by both sides of this", this statement refers to the attacks on the president coming from both parties. Note, this video was  made in 2010 so i few things have changed, like the presidents approval rating. Next the president identifies the whole point of this video a discussion on creating a consumer protection agency. As the president starts to drift off to sleep, George Bush Jr and Bill Clinton bust in his room. There are a few remarks made poking fun at Bush Jr's intellegence and Clinton's sexuality. Then Bush Sr. joins the bunch to make a few witty remarks and advocate the consumer protection program. "I know a thing or two about doin whats right and being on time" says Jimmy Carter entering the room. Carter continues, "Mr. president you have to establish the consumer fine protection agency. The people are tired of being ripped off by credit card companies and banks". Reagan cuts in "I went up agains Tip O'niel...but I just pushed through the competition and clabbered everybody and took down that wall". Gerald Ford is the last to arrive for some more personal remarks in a jovial manner. The video comes to a closure when Barak Obama says, "what you're saying is I should clean up the mess that you've all created". Reagan responds, "It's a bitch, but as George Washington once said to John Adams, tag you're it". These last two remarks are the icing on the cake. They illustrate how not one man created all these problems and not one man can solve them but through dialogue we can at least come closer to problem solving.
There are some ideological ideals present in the artifact. One ideology being that it doesn't matter whether you lean toward the right or the left in politics we shouldn't let it divide us, we should all be on team, America. Whether a president was republican or democratic in the end of the day has no relevance it's what they contributed to America as a person, not a party. Furthermore that its the collection of persons that have got us to where we are today.This ideology is illustrated by the actors, an interview of the videos director in entertainment weekly reveals, "The thing was, you had to get everyone (the star filled cast), or it wouldn't work. And you know, without naming names, some of these guys are Republicans. But the cause helped. Everyone felt it was so ridiculous to hesitate on financial reform. Democrat or Republican. It's common sense". This statement embodies the ideology that regardless your political stance there is only one side to be on, the one that benefits our country. But the value of being American is not the only ideology present in the video. As reported in the Chicago Tribune, this video was made in part by the Americans for Financial Reform, a group to support greater financial regulation. This group is a partner to Americans for Fairness in Lending, they push for new regulatory measures  for financial fairness. Thus there is a political agenda derived from the ideology of fairness applied to finance.
Whether you view this video as pure entertainment, or a skit that pokes fun at politics, There is a relevance to our current political system, and an firm call to action illustrated by ideological appeals.

Reference:
Manker, Rob. (March 3, 2010). Funny or Die 'Presidential Reunion'. Chicago Tribune.
Svetkey, Benjamin. (March 3, 2010), 'Presidential Reunion': How'd they do that? Entertainment Weekly.

Kumare: The True Story of a False Prophet (theological)

I chose a Kumare for my theological post, because this documentary is rich with spiritual ideologies. Kumare follows Vikram Gandhi as goes undercover as a Guru, named Kumare, in an experiment to uncover the power of spiritual leaders, such as Guru's. Gandhi starts the documentary with cynicism of the many self-proclaimed Guru's. He interviews a few different Guru's, each no more godly than you or I. In fact, Gandhi found that "real" Guru's are no more real than the American frauds copying them.
In the beginning it seemed that Vikram's purpose for the documentary was to go undercover and show people how foolish they can be, believing in a fraudulent Guru's. Despite Gandhi telling ABC News that, "it isn't about making fun of people, it's about the absurdity we all believe".
Though throughout the documentary, Gandhi initiative changes. Being Kumare exposed Vikram to a whole new spiritual side of the world that his cynacism had shut out to him. It's ironic that one of the teachings of this phony Guru, is "Mirror teachings" aka finding the Guru within. The irony lies in the fact that this mantra is anything but phony, for not only Kumare's followers, but for Vikram himself. In the end, Kumare, proves that even a placebo religion brings about the rewards of any faith. The comfort in finding answers. The Mirror teachings end up symbolizing how a Guru (or any spiritual leader) can be a complete fraud, yet still be doing some amount of public good. This is because it's not about the sincerity of the leader, but that of their followers.
As stated in the Washington Post, "What started as a long, elaborate joke becomes a journey, both for Gandhi’s students and for the filmmaker himself. It’s a journey that also carries the film’s audience to a place that is completely unexpected. It’s a trip that’s deeply, even startlingly rewarding, for seekers and skeptics alike". The journey that is being referred to is what makes this an uncanny artifact for the epistemological approach. This approach submits there are no objective Truths, it's the rhetoric between humans that engages us in a creative process which brings forth discoveries. The discovery made by Gandhi near the end of the documentary, undoubtably was the result of the encounters he had with his followers. These encounters not only changed the meaning of his documentary from that of an expose' of fraudulent religion, to one that illustrates the power spirituality even prompted by a false prophet, but it left Vikram a changed man with a new found desire of helping others. 
There are many Ideologies present that give Kumare a persuasive quality. One being that of a yoga lifestyle, bringing together balance of mind, body, and soul. Another, the power of spirituality to bring forth peace and happiness. Although the most important ideology present is the "mirror teachings", that we don't need to look for answers from false spiritual leaders, the answers are already within. Furthermore, reality  what we set our minds to and our interactions with one another are what is true.

References:
Watt, Nick & Shulman, Scott. (August 8,2012). 'Kumare': Fake Guru Exposes Real, Desperate Desire to Believe. ABC News. 
O'Sullivan, Micheal. (September 7,2012). Code Orange for the Gullible Masses. Washington Post.

'Drunk History' Stumbles Onto Comedy Central (Psychology)

Drunk History becomes a smash hit, or should I say smashed hit.

Once a series of videos on Funny or Die, Drunk History is now being weekly aired on Comedy Central. 

So what is it about Drunk History that makes it so appealing to be offered on spot on T.V.?

It's narrative is intoxicating!---Literally. Upon having more than a few drinks historians then attempt to ellaborate on historical events. While the alcohol may add a flair of drama; these historic tales are still suprisingly accurate. Producer Derek Waters reports to U.S.A today, "They're 100% true, but some of the details are not articulated correctly". It is exactly the articulation that makes this series what it is, hilariously inebriating.
In addition to the use of a historical narrative, Drunk History capitalizes off of ethos. Not only does the video depict a drunken historians, but there are celebrities reenacting their narratives. Celebrities such as Will Ferell as president Lincoln, and Jack Black as Benjamin Franklin and Elvis, to name a few. The use of these well known historical figures lends a whole lot of credibility to the series.
There are many Motivational appeals present in the Drunk History series:

1. Needs: the basic needs of the audience for this series to be entertained with an educational twist. This series more than provides this for the viewer, with booze and brilliance. As Waters points out, "I like to think of fraternity guys loving the show, and one of them Goggling the story behind it, and thinking 'Oh, it's true'" (U.S.A. Today). 
2. Emotions: The primary emotion that is evoked from this show is sheer joy. The historian being under the influence, paired with the reenactments by famous faces leaves the viewer in tears... from laughing so hard. 
3. Attitudes:The thing that is so amusing about Drunk History is personalization of these historical events. With aid from the alcohol the historians shed their inhibitions and while the main events are true the story is told ripe with opinion. In an interview with the New York Times Waters explains where the idea for the show came from: "It came out of having some drinks with my buddy Jake Johnson, an actor who’s now on “New Girl.” We were talking about the great Otis Redding, who tragically died in a plane crash, and Jake was so passionate about trying to convince me that Otis knew he was going to die when he got on that plane. But because he’d had a couple drinks, he was messing up the story. I thought it would be cool to re-enact that, but people always get drunk and talk about music. So I thought, what’s something people don’t usually get drunk and talk about?". Thus Drunk History was born, but it's the attitudes expressed by the drunk historians that have flourished this show into a mature T.V. series.
4. Consistency: The content of Drunk History is always the same: a liquored up historian, comedic reenactments. However, the alcohol provides a lot of funny spontaneity, leaving the viewer in anticipation for the next episode. 

The reason why I chose this artifact for psychology is how intriguing it is to watch people in an altered state of consciousness, shed of inhibitions were they are free to be a little bit creative, accounting a historical event. Thanks to Derek Waters, history becomes hilarious.

References:
Mallembaum, Carly. (July 7, 2013) On 'Drunk History', the Past Gets Plastered. USA Today.
Egner, Jeremy. (July 5,2013) How to Preserve the Past? Try Alcohol. The New York Times.