Elements of genre - Essay Example

Elements of Genre Hamilton Marci. “A Minefield of Extreme Religious Liberty.” The New York Times, July http www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/06/30/congress-religion-and-the-supreme-courts-hobby-lobby-decision/hobby-lobby-has-opened-a-minefield-of-extreme-religious-liberty> The major argument in this editorial is that The Religious Freedom Restoration Act in the US is unconstitutional; therefore there is need for it to be repealed. This writing taps into the audience values and emotions mainly through the author’s illustration of how the Act perpetrates inequality between believers and non-believers. In addition, the author also shows how this Act eats into the national income, hence injuring the taxpayer. The author has used persuasion in the article to convince readers about her argument. She does this by outlining the history of The Religious Freedom Restoration Act in the US since 1995, pointing out all the flaws in the process involving its implementation and practice over time. The author also explains how discriminatory the bill is. Considering that discrimination is unconstitutional, most patriotic readers will be convinced about the unconstitutionality of the Act. The author should have also given the audience a positive side of the Act, instead of banking on the negatives only.
Laycock Douglas. “The Law Worked the Way It Should.” The New York Times,
July 1, 2014. < http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/06/30/congress-religion-and-the-supreme-courts-hobby-lobby-decision/the-religious-freedom-act-worked-the-way-it-should> This writing argues for The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, citing its role of balancing the interests of people, as well protecting the religious commitments of various people in the United States. The writing taps into the audience’s values and emotions through its emphasis on diversity. The author believes in diversity, hence justifies exemptions on the basis of religion. The author of this article persuades his audience by pointing out the influence this Act has employers, employees, insurance companies, non-profits, and government. Form this, a reader can evaluate how the Act promotes diversity basing on its influence on different groups of people and bodies. The author is also realistic in his evaluation of the Act. He acknowledges the fact that the Act has not received full support, as it faces opposition from different parties. He also recognizes that the Act is quite complex, though it remains relevant. In order to make this writing better, the author should have considered enhancing the simplicity and clarity of the article. This could have been for instance, through mentioning directly how the Act promotes people’s religious commitments. The author has presented his argument in a way that the reader has to demystify the relationship between the Act and its promotion of the religious commitments of different people in America.
Tushnet Mark. “True Religious Freedom Leaves State Out of It.” The New York Times,
June 30, 2014. < http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/06/30/congress-religion-and-the-supreme-courts-hobby-lobby-decision/true-religious-freedom-leaves-state-out-of-it> The major argument is that The Religious Freedom Restoration Act is bad, as it predisposes religious people to considerable financial dependency on the state government. The author taps into the audience’s values and emotions by using the aspect of pro-religion strict separationism to show how ties between the government and state distort true religion, hence resulting in loss of religious values in the church. The author persuades the audience into believing his argument by showing how the church today is using its position to benefit itself, while contravening the aspect of equality between believers and non-believers, as well as the constitution of the nation. However, the author could have done better by focusing on facts about The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, instead of discussing his pro-religion strict separationism only. Read More