TOW #1 Hearing You Out by Nicholas D. Kristof

            The United States is currently debating on what the best option for the current crisis in Syria is, and the outcome will impact American history forever. Opinions can be made for several viable options, but with multiple options in the air a decision is incredibly hard to agree on. The op-ed columnist Nicholas D. Kristof recently stated that he supports the use of missiles in Syria, and after receiving backlash wrote the article Hearing You Out. The author directed the article to the readers’ who disagreed with his previous opinion. Kristof’s purpose of the article was to dispel arguments against his opinion on the use of missiles in Syria. I personally believe that the author did accomplish his purpose in the piece, although I disagree with some of his points, he was able to construct supported facts that dismantled the arguments made against his opinion. The article covered a variety of different arguments ranging from financial issues to moral dilemmas. I thought that the purpose was best achieved through the author’s use of the rhetorical device of persona. Kristof’s persona in the article was strong, and appealed to the readers’ emotions. For example when disputing the argument the America could regret the decision of getting involved in Syria he referenced the issue of the genocide in Rwanda referring that to when “Western forces evacuated a dog from the French Embassy, but left behind the Rwandan staff to be slaughtered. That wasn't “restraint.” That was passivity and myopia, and it was wrong” (Kristof). The use of his own persona enabled the situation to become more emotional, and Nicholas was able to add his own opinion on the matter. Nicholas Kristof is a two time Pulitzer Prize recipient, and has been a columnist at the New York Times since 2001 where twice a week an op-ed article of his is featured (Winter). Overall, I found the article to be well written, and, although I have my own opinion on the debate, I thought the purpose of the article was achieved.

Works Cited

Kristof, Nicholas. "Hearing You Out - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., 14 Sept. 2013. Web. 15 Sept. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/opinion/sunday/kristof-hearing-you-out.html?ref=opinion>.

Winter, Damon. "Nicholas D. Kristof's Columns." Times Topics - The New York Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2013. <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/nicholasdkristof/index.html>.