Tow #7-Dear United States: Is This What Democracy Looks Like? By: Terry Newell

In a scathing evaluation of the current state of America, Newell points out how many recently publicized events make the U.S look like a mess: Snowden, the government shutdown, and the recent spying on allies, etc. He then begins a serious of questions of why the United States doesn't seem to be able to get it together. But the author then pulls back and evaluates just why America is portrayed as so incompetent. Perhaps it is actually because America is so democratic as compared to other countries. However, he qualifies this idea with the fact that it does not excuse the problems that have developed for our nation as of late.
The most influential rhetorical device used in this article is rhetorical questioning. In fact, the second paragraph of the article is made up almost entirely of questions. These questions emphasize all the things that are going wrong in America these days and make the reader angry at the failures of the government. The author also makes use of logos in the last two sentences of his essay to cite statistics of how the United States is still viewed in a generally favorable light both domestically and internationally. After the frustration readers may feel about the government, these statistics make the article end on a hopeful note.
The author's purpose at first may seem to rant about the mess of our national government, but in fact it's almost the opposite. The article acknowledges the problems we are facing, and actually says that the large amount of liberty given to citizens is a contributing factor. Of course, every citizen would rather have a government that blunders at times than a large and rigid government that never blunders, because people who find any flaw in it are simply silenced. In short, the author's purpose is to tell Americans that although the actions of the U.S government have been disappointing as of late, it is the price of the freedom we cherish. Overall, I think the author did accomplish his purpose. As a frustrated citizen myself, I have realized that compared to many other governments around the world, our government is certainly not the worst by any means. Does that make some of the things the government has done okay? No. But at least we as citizens can speak our mind about it. Terry Newell is currently the Dean of Faculty of the Federal Executive Institute.