Models for Persuasive Essay Parts
Hooks:
Susan’s life partner has got into a terrible hiking accident, and living in Maine,
Susan couldn’t even step inside the hospital room. Cathy who is the same age as
Susan, in Washington State is going through a similar experience. However, with
the recent Referendum 71 passed, she can now care for and visit her partner in
the hospital. The issue is that many of those in these types of situations are
struggling to just get a few similar rights as married couples.
On November 30th 2001, Gary Leon Ridgeway was convicted of raping and
killing 48 women in Washington and Oregon. He confessed to over 70 murders
but only 48 bodies were confirmed. Part of his plea bargain was that if he gave up
locations to where he dumped these women, he would be spared the death
penalty and given life imprisonment instead; he agreed. This man is now in the
minimum-security unit at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla,
Washington (WA State Department of Corrections.) We, as Washington state
residents, are now paying for his food, housing and well being through our tax
dollars. In 2001, this was roughly $30,168 per year just for Gary Ridgeway (US
Department of Justice.) Over thirty thousand dollars a year of our hard earned
money is going for this monster to sit happily in our state prison.
Setting up the Problem
Athletes are overpaid for what they do. Their job is to play a sport that is
supposed to be for fun and instead it’s for the money. If it’s going to be all about
the money, then you should get paid on your performance not your name. Tom
Van Riper from Yahoo Sports explains that, “Andrew Bynum a first-round pick
out of high school four years ago who’s churned out nine points and six rebounds
in 21 minutes per game as a pro. Despite putting up meager numbers during his
first three seasons, the Lakers, still intrigued with Bynum’s “project” potential,
invested four more years and $58 million in him after the 2007-08 season.” (Van
Riper) If an athlete is going to get paid 20,000,000 dollars a year to play baseball
or basketball, they should never strike out or miss a free throw. There are people
out in the real world who have great jobs, but if they make one mistake, they get
fired. But if an athlete has a horrible season, no one cares and they still get
millions of dollars.
An estimated 1,417,745 violent crimes were committed in 2006, a 1.9% increase
from 2005. Violent crime has been on a rise since 2004. (Violent Crime)
Unfortunately, many people who commit these crimes will commit them again
once they get out of prison. (Repeat)
Establishing the Solution
Homeless people who receive supportive services through the homeless shelter
and are then able to transition into supportive housing save taxpayers thousands
of dollars. (Why Help The Homeless?) Helping homeless people through shelters,
mental health programs and chemical dependency programs offer cost cuts to the
taxpayer significantly. An average homeless person that is not receiving any
supportive services such as access to a shelter, plus case management for mental
health or chemical dependency issues costs $86,062 because of how frequently
they end up in the hospital, detox centers, jail, etc. Once enrolled into supportive
housing, it only costs $13,440 to take care of that person. (DESC)
Gays and lesbians should have the right to adopt because an author Carole
Cullum who is a partner in the San Francisco law firm of Cullum & Sena stated
that, “Surveys have found that 40 percent to 70 percent of gay men and at least
45 percent to 80 percent of lesbians are involved in steady relationships at any
given time and the longevity of these relationships is comparable to that of
heterosexual relationships.” (Cullum) This shows that gay and lesbian couples
can maintain a stable relationship. This also shows that if they are able to
maintain a stable relationship then they should be able to adopt a child. What we
can do to help this problem is start a petition or have some type of way that we
can speak up and help the gay and lesbian couples that want to adopt.
The solution is simple, if you don’t want your kids playing these violent games,
ten don’t buy them for them. If you think that if your child is going to turn into a
serial killer after one afternoon of playing grand theft auto, then you are
mistaken. If violent video games cause so much violence, then why isn’t this
world full of billions of murderers? Because violent video games obviously don’t
cause violence at all. In an interview, author and Ph.D. Lawrence Kutner said,
“What I hope people realize is that there is no data to support the simple-minded
concerns that video games cause violence.” (Stevens) In the book Grand Theft
Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents
Can Do, Kutner and Olson came to the conclusion that there is no tie between
aggression and video games, if kids are attracted to M-rated games, were
naturally aggressive to begin with.
Response to Critics
In October of 2009 Amnesty International, a worldwide peace organization,
published a statement saying that “The death penalty is the ultimate, irreversible
denial of human rights.” They have also recently started a campaign called the
“Amnesty International USA's Death Penalty Abolition Campaign”. This
campaign’s main focus is to “end the cycle of violence created by a system riddled
with economic and racial bias and tainted by human error” (Amnesty
International.) This organization can fight this tactic that has been used for
centuries yet; in 1976, a Supreme Court ruling found capital punishment to be
indeed constitutional. From 1976 through June 3, 2009, 1,167 people have been
executed in the U.S. (Liberal & Progressive Politics & Perspectives.) If the
Supreme Court ruled it constitutional over thirty years ago, their argument is not
viable. How can this organization and others apposing the death penalty attempt
to nullify this act that has been an option in Washington State and the US for
hundreds of years?
Jenny Murphy, a California mom and writer for the social activism site
speakout.com, had this to say about the three strikes law. “The prison population
has grown so much that most are already filled beyond capacity and many more
prisons need to be built; tax payers will have to foot the bill. Three-strikes laws
are not effective crime prevention measures, they are unnecessarily harsh
sentencing guidelines.” (Murphy) This is a strong argument against the threestrike law; however, the figures don’t lie. In California, which can be argued to be
one of the most crime invested states (533 violent crimes per. 100,00 inhabitants;
higher than NY and Florida). (Crime Rate) California has dropped almost half a
million violent crimes a year, since the law was passed in 1994. (Reynolds)
Call to Action
Growing up as many of us have, in a worry free state of mind, it is so easy to
become unattached to the difficult realities many people face in our communities.
If we learn at an early age that these harsh realities exists, we hold the power to
help change the way future generations approach thoughts of homelessness.
Knowing that these people have not chosen their circumstance is a big lesson. …
With that said, it is important for the general population to help support local
organizations, like desc.org, that wish to build more supportive housing units. It
will ultimately save taxpayers thousand and keep homeless off the streets.