J.M.J.
Colin Morella
English 30 Proposal Essay
Audience:
Penn
State
University
Composition director Stuart Selber
Forum: Letter to the director
English
Department
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Dear Professor Selber,
My name is Colin Morella, and I am a current freshman student in honors English 30 at
Penn State. I am writing to you to address my concern with the content of the reading
selections in the English 30 syllabus. The course’s reading material is taken from the book,
Rereading America, a collection of essays meant to stimulate critical thinking and writing skills
in students, while at the same time informing them on U.S. cultural topics. With this in mind, I
wish to make a request that one of these writings, Michael Moore’s Idiot Nation, be removed
from the syllabus and replaced with another, David Kupelian’s Killer Culture.
According to the English 30 “Course Description,” which is located in the syllabus, one of
the main purposes of this course is to teach the students how to utilize rhetoric in their writing
in order to “construct persuasive and stimulating arguments.” This is partially achieved through
the analysis of rhetoric in the readings from Rereading America, and the syllabus description
defines rhetoric as “a way of transforming the feelings, opinions, and behaviors of others.”
However, my own view is that the reading Idiot Nation presents a very poor example of a
persuasive argument. In this excerpt from his book, Stupid White Men, Michael Moore
illustrates the faults of the American education system and how these faults have given rise to a
nation full of idiots. However, he does nothing but affirm the beliefs of those individuals who
already agree with this claim, and furthermore, he does not offer any evidence to alter the
opinion of those who would disagree with it.
Although some students and faculty may insist that Idiot Nation nicely fits into the
syllabus, given its association with modern culture in the United States, a comprehensive
analysis of the piece reveals that it is little more than an angry diatribe. In the beginning of the
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piece, Moore creates a case for exigency by asking the question, “Do you feel like you live in a
nation of idiots?” He goes on to say how the United States “not only churns out illiterate
students, BUT GOES OUT OF ITS WAY TO REMAIN IGNORANT AND STUPID…” Moore’s exigency
here merely provides a means of making his readers feel like exceptional beings by degrading
the other “two hundred million stone-cold idiots in this country.” This notion of superiority is
present throughout Idiot Nation, which satirically goes on to bash President Bush on many
occasions for his alleged stupidity, scold the government for being more concerned with
“building bombers” than funding the education of the youth, and labeling the U.S. as “The
Dumbest Country on Earth.” In fact, the U.S. is just as literate if not more so than a number of
other first and second world countries including Germany, Canada, Australia, and Ireland.1
Although Moore does imply solutions to fix America’s apparent stupidity, he does not give any
realistic means of achieving those solutions. For example, he says that corporate funding of
education should be directed more towards learning than school advertising. He also states
indirectly that funding of our nation’s defense should be taken away and rerouted to fund
education. However, Moore does not explain how either of these should be accomplished. The
only straightforward (yet unrealistic) solution that Moore gives for the dilemma of poor
education and stupidity in America is for the students to rebel against their school
administrations. He offers no convincing argument in his piece, but rather consolation to his
supporters that they can feel good knowing that they represent a beacon of intelligence and
hope in the darkness of the United State’s idiocy.
1
“Stupid White Men” Michael Moore Exposed 1 December 2008. < http://www.mooreexposed.com/swm.html>.
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Besides this, Moore provides neither conclusive nor accurate examples in Idiot Nation.
He likes to toss in statements to defend his assertion of American stupidity, such as the fact
that American sports fans (“jocks and lunkheads,” according to Moore) know their sports facts,
not all Americans can locate the country Kosovo, and the “idiot leader” of the U.S. supposedly
“rarely reads anything.” Such minute examples offer no proof that the majority of the nation
has succumbed to stupidity and do not make for a convincing argument--they more or less
serve as entertainment. Some individuals would certainly take issue with my claim here,
because Moore goes on to provide more compelling “facts.” For example, he states that “there
are forty-four million Americans who cannot read and write above a fourth-grade level.” This
purported reality is the fundamental proof in Idiot Nation that the U.S. is uneducated. Upon
further investigation, I discovered that this information was taken from the U.S. Department of
Education’s National Adult Literacy Survey.2 Moore fails to mention these following facts in
regard to those who scored lowest in literacy in the survey (the forty-four million who can
barely read and write). Firstly, twenty-five percent of those surveyed in the lowest literacy level
were new immigrants who could have just been learning the English language, and another
sixty-two percent of respondents had in fact dropped out of high school.3 Secondly, one third of
the respondents were sixty-five or older and suffered from varying health conditions that
hindered their ability to perform work.4 Thirdly, nineteen percent had vision problems that
often prevented them from correctly reading print, and four percent were actually prison
2
Ibid.
3
“A First Look at the Findings of the NALS.” Adult Literacy in America National Center for Education Statistics 3
December 2008 <http://nces.ed.gov/pubs93/93275.pdf>.
4
Ibid.
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inmates.5 It is no surprise that such groups of individuals scored low on literacy, and it in no way
proves that the entire country is uneducated. In turn, this begs the question: Just how truthful
are the rest of Moore’s facts in Idiot Nation? After all, his claims hinge on the reality that fortyfour million immigrants, senior citizens, high school drop-outs, and prisoners are illiterate.
Moore is merely twisting the facts to “pander to his readers’ drive to superiority.”6
With this in mind, I would now like to address why Killer Culture should substitute for
Idiot Nation. Unlike Michael Moore, who directs his writing at those who already agree with
him, David Kupelian actually provides a convincing argument for those who may wish to
challenge his views and beliefs. Through his use of personal experiences, analogies, and outside
sources, Kupelian effectively illustrates how the American youth easily succumb to the peer
pressure of a corrupt society. He takes examples from several areas of society and
demonstrates how each prey upon the youths’ “search for identity.” For instance, Kupelian
explains how the affluent music industry, hip-hop in particular, has mesmerized today’s
adolescents through “powerful political and sexual images of rap,” and encourages interest in
the troubling ghetto and gangsta life. He thoroughly describes how groups such as MTV,
Hollywood, corporate America, and numerous others draw the youth into a debauched subculture through cheapening of sex, encouragement of materialism and rebelliousness, sexual
perversion, bizarre practices such as ritual scarification and self mutilation, as well as an
obsession with death. Kupelian systematically defends all of his claims with specific examples
5
Ibid.
6
“Stupid White Men” Michael Moore Exposed.
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and accurately cites all sources used, presenting a convincing case to those who believe that
modern day society is wholesome.
It may be argued that Killer Culture is biased, as it comes from a more conservative point
of view. After all, it demonstrates how the corruptive effects of society are a direct result of its
denial of God and divine law, and the people’s wish to “be their own gods and make their own
rules.” Although I concede that the content of this piece comes from a conservative
perspective, I still maintain that it should be added to the syllabus because it serves to balance
out the plethora of other liberal readings required for the course. It effectively gives the reader
something to think about because it shows the outcome of the subliminal elimination of God
from U.S. culture, something not discussed in any of the other pieces from Rereading America.
Some may insist that the elimination of God which Kupelian speaks of is an illusion,
considering the fact that the United States is one of the most religious industrialized countries.7
However, one must look beyond simple statistics. The United States is a country that has
outlawed school prayer and the teaching of Creationism. Some want to remove the words
“under God,” from the Pledge of Allegiance and flag certificates, deeming it offensive. God is
mocked and ridiculed in numerous Hollywood productions. All the while, many Christian
communities and those who uphold allegiance to God continue their worship in the churches,
but do not actively speak out against the secularization of society. It would appear that the
United States is religious in name only.
7
“Australia ‘among world’s least religious countries’” CN Cath News 16 December 2008
<http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=7983>.
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Besides these points, the Kupelian’s essay provides excellent pedagogical value for the
English 30 syllabus. Not only does Killer Culture give superb insight into U.S. Culture by
illustrating its harmful attributes, it presents an effective example of persuasive writing.
Kupelian efficiently utilizes exigency at the beginning of his essay by recounting a personal
experience with his son to demonstrate the effects of peer pressure. This in turn sets the tone
of the remainder of writing, which thoroughly explains how the peer pressure of society
corrupts the youth. Furthermore, this reading moves along in an orderly structure. From the
vices encouraged by MTV and the rap of the “Gangsta generation,” to the nation’s “love of
death,” Kupelian lists in detail each and every way in which today’s debauched culture has
harmed the youth. The piece never fails to lose the reader’s interest due to its detail and logical
placement of facts and quotes. This in turn serves as a learning tool for English students, who
often times fail to include specific information to defend their theses and hold the readers’
interest. Overall, the structure of the essay provides a helpful template for persuasive writing.
Contrasting Michael Moore’s Idiot Nation, which simply reassures his supporters of their
superiority over all of the American idiots, David Kupelian’s Killer Culture actually attempts to
change his audience’s mind on the dangers of modern culture. Put simply, Moore tries to rile up
his readers while Kupelian tries to persuade them. Thus, in light of the fact that the purpose of
this English course is to teach students how to argue effectively and enlighten them on various
aspects of U.S. Culture, I propose that Idiot Nation be removed from the future English 30
syllabus and replaced with Killer Culture.
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Bibilography
“Stupid White Men” Michael Moore Exposed < http://www.mooreexposed.com/swm.html>.
“A First Look at the Findings of the NALS.” Adult Literacy in America National Center for Education Statistics
<http://nces.ed.gov/pubs93/93275.pdf>.
“Australia ‘among world’s least religious countries’” CN Cath News 16 December 2008
<http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=7983>.