Vocabulary
conjecture and ambivalence
At the same time, however, the entire case for military intervention is based on conjecture: "If we choose not to act, we will be electing to send Iran a message of American ambivalence and weakness," is how Kerry put it during his testimony before the House Armed Services Committee Tuesday.
collateral.
I can think of almost no worse reason for raining death from the skies or allowing a murderous tyrant to go unpunished than its collateral impact on domestic political squabbles.
Structure
Qualification Structure. The overall structure is in four parts: it is this: data/I say/qualification/ underlying assumption.
Specifically, it's a lot of data about different people speaking hypothetically/ Zorn's statement that hypothetical thinking is good for us/ the qualification that speculation about ONE specific question should be dismissed/ and a final turn about reader's person "red lines."
Second person conclusion. Zorn doesn't use the 2nd person (you) in the article until the last paragraph. There he aims directly at the reader, forcing the reader to think about one hypothetical thinking that underlies all the discussions about Syria.
"And finally a question for all of us to duck: If Assad's alleged chemical attack on his own people did not cross your personal 'red line' for military response, then what act of barbarity would? Another similar attack? Two more? Ten more? Or is he free to murder his own citizens with impunity as long as he stays within his borders?"
Style
loaded language. In rhetoric, loaded language (also known as emotive language or high-inference language) is wording that attempts to influence the listener or reader by appealing to emotion. (from wikipedia)
I can think of almost no worse reason for raining death from the skies or allowing a murderous tyrant to go unpunished than its collateral impact on domestic political squabbles.
conjecture and ambivalence
At the same time, however, the entire case for military intervention is based on conjecture: "If we choose not to act, we will be electing to send Iran a message of American ambivalence and weakness," is how Kerry put it during his testimony before the House Armed Services Committee Tuesday.
collateral.
I can think of almost no worse reason for raining death from the skies or allowing a murderous tyrant to go unpunished than its collateral impact on domestic political squabbles.
Structure
Qualification Structure. The overall structure is in four parts: it is this: data/I say/qualification/ underlying assumption.
Specifically, it's a lot of data about different people speaking hypothetically/ Zorn's statement that hypothetical thinking is good for us/ the qualification that speculation about ONE specific question should be dismissed/ and a final turn about reader's person "red lines."
Second person conclusion. Zorn doesn't use the 2nd person (you) in the article until the last paragraph. There he aims directly at the reader, forcing the reader to think about one hypothetical thinking that underlies all the discussions about Syria.
"And finally a question for all of us to duck: If Assad's alleged chemical attack on his own people did not cross your personal 'red line' for military response, then what act of barbarity would? Another similar attack? Two more? Ten more? Or is he free to murder his own citizens with impunity as long as he stays within his borders?"
Style
loaded language. In rhetoric, loaded language (also known as emotive language or high-inference language) is wording that attempts to influence the listener or reader by appealing to emotion. (from wikipedia)
I can think of almost no worse reason for raining death from the skies or allowing a murderous tyrant to go unpunished than its collateral impact on domestic political squabbles.