Changes of the Civil Rights Movement. Speaks of Cohen

Essay by Anonymous UserUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, December 1996

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Many Americans believed in progress toward better race relations after the civil rights movement of the 1950's and 1960's. They saw a future where African Americans and other minorities would emerge from poverty to become fully integrated in American life. In 'Our Children Are Our Future--They're Bigots,' Richard Cohen is apparently writing to parents, the group of people he defines as between the ages of thirty and forty-nine. Cohen uses ethos, logos, and pathos to appeal specifically to this audience.

The audience that Cohen is addressing are those people that grew up during the civil rights movement. These people have seen first hand the changes that have affected American life. Cohen is also writing to this group because they have been affected the most by the increased policies that have made them victims of such things as forced housing and affirmative action. Cohen is showing that their resentment of being victims is carrying over to the generation that they are raising.

Cohen used specific examples of the ADL survey as ethos to point out values specific to racism. He states that white people aged fifty years old or over answered 'probably true' (676) when they were asked if blacks preferred to remain on welfare rather than work? 'Similarly, a majority of younger respondents thought blacks 'complain too much about racism' (sixty-eight percent) and 'stick together more than others' (sixty-three percent)' (677). He passes judgment on these examples of the ADL survey to prove that ethos is a major part of racism. Cohen uses these examples to explain the right from the wrong. He wants the audience to see the effects that their judgments will and have had on the rest of the world.

Cohen used examples and opinions as logos to point to the new world order that is deriving...