Blog Post 2 (How We Need to Learn to Say No to the Elderly)

I definitely chose this article because of my personal connection and the title and subtitle. The subtitle was what really caught my eye it’s something I have been saying for years, "Old people will kill you," now I've finally got someone on my side. On the personal side of this article I have both a grandmother and a mother that called having to give up their driver licenses a loss of their independence. In my opinion society is better off with the both of them being chauffeured instead of behind the wheel of a car.

 Author David Frum brings things that are very important to not just current issues, but future ones as well. He starts off talking about 3 different incidents that occurred while our elderly drivers (who refuse to stop driving) who should not necessarily be driving have caused. The article then moves into some important future aspects of how the elderly will continue to affect the economy such as; unemployment, them opposing active government, and even their disapproval of today's youth.

Rhetorical Strategies

· Allusion- In the subtitle David creates this allusion that if we don't start telling our elderly no at some point they may cause the county considerable problems. In the article he stated "They're the worst drivers--and we're too scared to tell them so. If we don't push back, they'll steal our benefits and bankrupt the country." Of course I don't think he really feels like the elderly will bankrupt the entire country, however, he does point out things that may put us in jeopardy for the future.

· Logos- David uses a lot of statistics and facts throughout his article, for example he gives the breakdown of the number of Americans over 65 is projected to double between 2010 and 2050, to almost 90 million. He also gives the statistics on the unemployment rate between the ages of 18 to 29 as thirty-two percent. Stating that between these ages they are either unemployed or working part-time while searching for a full-time job.

· Pathos- In the first paragraph David starts with a story of an 86 year old woman who somehow managed to get off of the freeway going in the wrong direction. She continued to do so for approximately several miles not realizing the danger she had created. Fortunately, no one was hurt; however 3 more occurrences happen that same year. Later on he gives an example of how the elderly view the youth. One man even goes as far to call young men that are unemployed as “lazy, irresponsible, and unmanly” and to publicly revile them as “bums.”

· Tone- The article for me went through a couple of different tones in my opinion. At a glance you would think funny and sarcastic, but it felt very boring because all he really did was throw around a bunch of facts and statistics. At one point it seems to even get aggressive, "If you want to know why Europeans postpone children so long, lowering birth rates across the continent, here's our answer: weak job prospects plus high rents. “He asks us a question and jumps right into the answer all in one sentence.

· Exaggeration- In the subtitle David says, “If we don’t push back, they’ll steal our beneftis and bankrupt the country.” Clearly that is not what is meant, but he makes it seem that if some kind of conclusion isn’t reached some there won’t be anything left for our future generations.
 http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/06/24/david-frum-on-how-we-need-to-learn-to-say-no-to-the-elderly.html