Anyway I wrote a rhetorical analysis of the acticle for an english class so I thought I'd share it.
Almost everyone has an opinion about same-sex marriage. Whether you believe it should be legal or you think we should continue to discriminate against homosexuals, we are all very much aware of the controversial subject. Gay marriage in the United States is illegal, although some states including Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont have legalized same-sex marriage. You can find many opinions about the legality of gay marriage online; one of those opinions is that of Dkcalpolo89. According to Dkcalpolo89, our generation may ultimately be the ones who decided the future of homosexuals, and it is our responsibility to open up our minds and look to overturn the ban of gay marriage. In the online article “Tainted Love,” Dkcalpolo89 uses the rhetorical tools of logos, pathos, and ethos to persuade his audience into believing that banning gay marriage is wrong. By using these logical, emotional, and authoritative appeals, he sways his audience into believing his argument.
In order to persuade Americans to believe that banning gay marriage violates the ideas in which our country was founded upon, Dkcalpolo89 writes, “[Denying] homosexual couples the right to legally marry is no different than denying marriage to Jews because they are not Christian.” These very powerful words tap into our emotions and force us to realize that making it illegal for a homosexual to marry really is unjust. No one would doubt that discrimination is wrong.
Dkcalpolo89 then continues his argument with this logical analogy:
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution explicitly prohibits our government from establishing a religion. This means that our government cannot interfere with our right to practice -or decide not to practice- a religion. Therefore, outlawing same-gender marriage because certain religions find homosexuality sinful violates the First Amendment right of individuals who choose not to follow those religions.
The United States Constitution’s First Amendment was written to protect its people from discrimination based on religion. Dkcalpolo89 points out that we are in fact violating “the equal protection of law guaranteed to all by the Constitution.”
Violation of the Constitution is not the only reason Dkcalpolo89 has for arguing the ban of gay marriage. He writes, “In the U.S., a legal marriage grants couples many benefits not available to those who are not married.” Homosexuals are denied the rights given to married couples because they are not permitted the option of marriage, how fair is that? Homosexuals do not get to “[enjoy] the legal benefits and privileges that [heterosexuals] take for granted.”
Many opponents of same-sex marriage believe allowing same-sex marriage will weaken the institution of marriage, they are simply implying that “somehow marriage is more sacred when those entering into it are of different genders.” Meanwhile, others feel that it will do harm to the rest of the people in our society. Dkcalpolo89 writes:
This argument forgets, however, that allowing homosexuals to marry in fact would strengthen the fabric of society by encouraging more couples to commit to building a life together and adopting children who may not otherwise be able to find a home.
Dkcalpolo89 also points out that many other counties and states with in the U.S. are living proof that gay marriage does not harm others in the society. He cares about society and if anything, gay marriage will only benefit our lives.
Dkcalpolo89 uses rhetorical tools to convince us that what he is saying is right. He uses ethos by showing us that he cares about the well-being of society. With gay marriage more children will be adopted. He uses logic by reminding us of our First Amendment and showing us we are not abiding by it. He uses pathos by comparing the discrimination of Jews to, what he claims, is discriminations against same-sex lovers. Dkcalpolo89 wants us to see that discrimination is wrong even if we do not realize it is happening. Besides, as Dkcalpolo89 says, “it’s no one’s business what personal or love commitments others make.”
