Rhetorical Analysis

I decided to rhetorically analyze an article that deals with my advocacy issue, but I took a slightly different approach. Instead of choosing an article or journal that has the same viewpoints as I do, I chose an article that has completely opposite standings on the issue of energy independence. I felt that this would give me a different perspective and allow for me to see if someone's writing written well enough to persuade me to feel the way they do.

I chose to read and analyze the article entitled "Energy Independence: think again," written by Philip Deutch. This article is all about how the United States will apparently never become energy independent and why we will never achieve independence. Throughout the entirety of his article, Deutch tries his best to persuade his readers to believe that energy independence is unreachable goal. The author's exigency is that our country is continuing to waste time and effort on a problem that cannot and does not need to be fixed. He asks his audience to consider current issues, unfulfilled promises, historical facts, and his own reasoning's about energy independence in America.

The author uses many methods to try to accomplish his goal in his piece. First off, his article is extremely heavy on logical facts. He states a lot of statistical information throughout his work. He uses data about oil consumption, alternative energies, and uses parallels to other countries around the world. Deutch provides evidence on how America's becoming increasingly more energy dependence over time. He uses facts such as America imported 35 percent of its oil in 1973 and by 2003 that number had increased to over 55 percent (Deutch 1). Though his facts do make me rethink my stand, they are not enough on their own to fully accomplish his goal.

Even though I am not in agreement with Deutch, I do believe that he is fairly credible. His current resume is loaded with energy organization-related positions and officer titles. He is currently a managing partner with NGP Energy Technology Partners. He also is a current board member to a sector of NASDAQ, ISE Corporation, TPI composites and American Wind Capital and a former member of Lehigh Technologies and other notable energy corporations. Yes, these titles do mean that he has many years of energy related experience, but I still believe that just because you have numerous reputable titles under your belt does not mean that everything you say is right. There are several articles that I have read from other people who have similar backgrounds as Deutch, and they believe that America is well capable of achieving energy independence.

Throughout his article you can tell that Deutch assumes a few things about his audience. The first and foremost thing he assumes is that his audience believes that energy independence is possible. Which, in my case, is a good thing because I, in fact, do believe independence is possible. Throughout his article he states different quotes of ideas that an American who believes in energy independence would state,

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