Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech was one of the most prolific persuasion/ inspirational writings constructed in history. The fact that the speech was written by a black man in 1960’s America signifies how much power the words had to possess in order to appeal to an opposing audience, furthermore the speech’s delivery from King himself was in direct accordance with what African-American people of the time were feeling; in summary, King felt and captured the pulse of the crowd. The spiritual song-like format in which the speech was written is one explanation as to why the speech inspired change. The southern African-American culture of that time was deeply rooted in the Baptist church, and a significant part of the church’s worship was the singing of songs (the genre’s definition being “negro spirituals”, songs originally sang by slaves while they were working in the fields). If you were to look for patterns within the speech’s lines, you would become aware of the repetitive words which always had a subliminal motive behind them, motives being to enlighten, empower, and encourage the people to take a stand for change, but the speech’s poetic flow was made to sound like that of a traditional song sang in church. For instance, in the second paragraph, King speaks of the “one hundred years” of oppression (after the Emancipation Proclamation) that the black man faced in American society.  The “one hundred years” is a motif within this portion of the speech, what it delivered to the speech was communal flow, meaning that King was speaking the right words, to the right people, at the right time, and in the right fashion. This style of writing and speaking captured the audience’ attention and ultimately was able to keep that attention and make the people relate to the speech. The location where the speech was delivered (the Lincoln Monument in Washington D.C.) was aesthetic to the message that Martin Luther King Jr. was conveying. In the very opening of the speech he said: “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.”- He goes on to say that the message that Lincoln delivered that day served as a “Beacon light of Hope” to millions of slaves who had been unjustly persecuted in this country, and the rest of the speech was a reminder of what was promised on that day; the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness for all men. The visual effect of being at that location while hearing such powerful words being delivered in such an emotional fashion- obviously had a great impact on (not only those who were in attendance) but on our nation as a whole; that venue, in that time period was perfect for the message being conveyed. No other venue could have stirred up as much emotion for the cause of Civil Rights, it’s sort of like the Woodstock concerts; the original concert promoted free love and expression and ended up being one of the most memorable events for that generation, whereas the 1990’s version was an attempt to recapture the magic of the original, but ended up being a perversion of the original and is remembered as an event that went down in infamy. For the many African-Americans who listened to King speak, one may say that after the speech was done, there was a new feeling of hope in the air; a feeling that had long been suppressed by discrimination. They were inspired to “lift every voice and sing”, protest, and shed blood for the cause of freedom and equality. For those who were white (and likely on the opposing side of the political movement), the speech did provoke thought within them. Whether they liked it or not, they were at least forced to think about what King had said; after which they had a side to choose. Overall, civil rights for all men became a hot topic after the “I Have a Dream” speech, and it could no longer be ignored by anyone regardless of beliefs; it was a speech that changed our nation for the better.

The Power of Language

The power of language to me by definition is prevalent most in the written word; which is carefully constructed for a general cause. Inspirational and persuasive writings (such as poetry, essays, and speeches) are meant to effect change, an idea is first placed on paper and eventually reconstructed over time with the purpose of making others buy into whatever the author is proposing. Great writings like Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” had the power to reform laws in the United States and expand civil rights to all people, and the credit is directly related to the emotional impact that it had on a mass amount of people who were ready for the status quo (of that time) to evolve. It is much like the more recent events that took place in Egypt, the people came together for a cause and removed a top authority figure that some may classify as being a dictator; either way, I would be willing to bet something significant that at the very root of all of the organized protest in the streets of Cairo there was some manuscript written by someone who spawned it all. I discovered this power for the first time when I wrote a book report in the 5th grade. I opted to do my report on the book “Gifted Hands: the story of Dr. Ben Carson”, I guess you can say that it was the first time in my life that I had truly been inspired by words. At that particular time in my life I had been struggling in school, and I began to have moments where I questioned whether or not I could even learn what I was being taught. As I read the story of Ben Carson, I was able to relate to what he described as his academic short comings. He was in roughly the same grade as I and was experiencing the same problems, but it was his first moment of retaining information that caught my intrigue. He wrote that the obsidian rock was something that had caught his eye, and after learning about the shiny little black sphere shaped object, he figured that if he could be interested in something like a species of rock, than he could become interested in (and learn) anything. Soon after I read the book in its entirety I began to think about his academic philosophy and started to accept it as my own. After I finished writing the report, I proofed it over and it read like nothing I had ever written before. Of course, the final draft lacked form and had a multitude of punctuation and grammar errors (it was the 5^th grade after all), but it was still the best work I had constructed at the time. To make a long story short, I received an A+ for my efforts; but it was the earning of that particular grade that became a turning point for the rest of my academic career. It was the written language of a person who struggled the way that I did which made me believe that I as well could accomplish great things. I may not be a pediatric neuro-surgeon like Dr. Ben Carson, but I have achieved things academically that I never would have had I not read his book; and personally that is the definition of the power that the written word carries.

As I said before

As I have mentioned before, Critical thinking as a whole enables us to recognize a wide range of subjective analysis of what is usually objective data, and it also allows us to evaluate how well each analysis might contribute to our needs. Facts may be facts, but how we interpret them always varies. Critical thinkers are consciously open-minded as opposed to always seeing things in black and white.

Open Mindedness is essential to critical thinkers.  We are critically thinking when we evaluate all reasonable inferences, considering a variety of possible viewpoints, and remaining open to alternative interpretations. Critical thinkers are more rational in the sense that they rely on reason rather than emotion alone. Critical thinkers are concerned with finding the best explanation, and require conclusive evidence and follow evidence where it leads. 

When thinking critically, you should have good self-awareness. You should weigh the influences of motive and bias, and recognize our own assumptions, prejudices, biases, or point view.  We are thinking critically when we recognize emotional impulses, selfish motives, or other modes of self-deception.  Having good discipline is important with critical thinking. When following the process of critical thinking, one should be precise, meticulous, comprehensive and exhaustive, resist manipulation, irrational appeals, and avoid making snap shots. Critical thinkers use good judgment. They recognize the relevance and merit of alternative assumptions and perspectives. They also understand the extent and weight of the evidence being presented.

Critical thinkers are skeptical by nature. They approach texts with skepticism and suspicion as the approach spoken remarks. Critical thinkers are active, not passive. They ask questions and analyze. They consciously apply tactics and strategies to uncover meanings or assure their understanding. They are willing to challenge their beliefs and investigate competing evidence.

I am usually skeptical and approach everything that I read and how I analyze it with reasonable suspicion. Critical thinking for me is fundamental for understanding about any subject or literature that I am reading. I do not try to judge what I read but stay open to what the author is trying to convey and come up with my rational judgment afterwards. It affects many of the daily and life goal decisions that I make. It affects what belief system I decide to base my faith in by analyzing and reading what churches teachings are about.

 Critically thinking definitely has an effect on my academic and where I see myself professionally. I have known for a while now what I wanted to do for work and how I choose to make my money. As I have navigated through the requirements to get there, I have always made sure that I making decisions that will get me there as quickly as possible. I have also always made sure that I have exit plan when I finish my schooling making sure that I will secure employment and not be stuck having to just pay student loans without any means of doing so.

By the end of this semester, I am hoping to improve and develop a better flow to my writing.