Second Tuesday Topic
Have you convinced anyone else to change their opinion about the Iraq War?
If so, describe that experience and how you convinced them.
If not, imagine what would change your mind if you felt differently about the War.
Labels: Tuesday Topics
1 Comments:
In the fall of 2004, in my college speech class, I had to make a persuasive speech on the topic of my choice (within certain criteria). I chose the the Iraq War. My aim was to persuade people to change their minds about the Iraq War. My speech revolved around three main points: 1) The rate of American deaths was escalating, not declining, 2) The rate of financial expenditure was increasing, not declining, and that this came at the expense of domestic programs conceived to help the poor and ordinary people (With this, I was trying to demonstrate how the war negatively affects everybody, not just combatants), and 3) Opinion polls of Iraqis demonstrated that a solid majority of Iraqis wanted the U.S. to withdraw its troops immediately. I concluded these analyses by making the point that there is a common solution to all three of these problems: immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq. This would save lives, taxpayer money, domestic public services, and it would make the Iraqis happier. One of the criteria we were being graded on was relating to our audiences emotional needs. Therefore, I made a point of avoiding controversy by avoiding making points about the root cause of the war (oil) or using the president's name (at the time, he was more popular than he is today). I think my speech must have been at least somewhat affective because I got an A on it and several people from my class later approached me and told me that my speech had changed their opinion of the war. That made me feel really good, like I'd accomplished something much greater than just a good grade. It made me feel like I'd made a real difference in the world around me and that things could get better because of it. That was definitely one of the prouder moments of my life.
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