Compassion and empathy are generous ideas in theory, but truly are the bane of our existence, often serving only to weaken a society.
Crafting your argument
1. Take a position with the statement. Do you support or challenge the idea. Think about framing your argument on an individual, community, national and international level.
Bring 3 solid forms of concrete evidence to back your point. Have them written & prepared by the start of class.
2. Evidence: Find 3 different forms of Evidence that supports your position
(no hypotheticals)
R: Reading (credible on-line articles, essays on topic, definitions)
E: Entertainment/Arts (documentaries or relevant movies (i.e. Pay it Forward), plays, artwork)
H: History (factual events, research, studies)
U: Universal Truths (quotes from models in society (i.e. Mother Theresa) )
G: Government (news community, international or national government actions)
O: Observation (personal stories or observations of other people)
3. Prepare & Frame your argument: (3 paragraphs) I contend that compassion and empathy serve to ……
The following questions might help you to start paragraphs:
1. Personal Narration - a story of your own that exemplifies your point
In my own experience
2. Description - an personal observation you have made in society, a description of the effects empathy and compassion as observed in a study or an article
According to the article… compassion in the corporate setting
3. Process Analysis - what are the stages of strengthening or weakening a society and how does compassion and empathy involved?
According to research in a recent science article,
4. Division / Classification - what are the types of compassion and empathy that help or hinder society?
As stated by the medical industry….
5. Definition - What is the definition of empathy and compassion and how does this description lend itself to the argument?
According to the on-line journal of medicine
6. Compare / Contrast - compare the success or failure of individuals or groups (corporations, nations) that have experienced compassion and empathy
7. Cause & Effect - what are the results of having compassion and empathy in society?
8. Illustration / exemplification - provide a specific example of compassion / empathy and how it has strengthened or weakened a society (think community or government level)
9. Persuasion - create an emotional, ethical, or logical appeal based on your own ideas of human behavior
Write 3 paragraphs of support:
Support
I contend compassion serves to weaken our society because it does not help us enforce effective policies that strengthen society (our government). Recently, Obama’s compassionate agenda to provide everyone access to healthcare has set our society back and caused a government shutdown. As his policy rolled out, the nation watched its failure in the website breakdown and trouble to accessing information people have. Kathleen Sebelius, the woman in charge of the health care policy was grilled by Congress this week. This was not a compassionate setting, not about giving her a second chance which would further the conomichardship. Instead, it was about holding her accountable. We don’t need compassion, we need critical views to keep society on a path in which it can move forward. (Illustration)
or 3 paragraphs challenging the above statement.
Challenge
Compassion serves to strengthen our society because it has the ability to bring an awareness about critical needs and help us form policies to address those gaps. Veteran suicides are a growing problem in this country. Recently, NPR reported that Senator Isakson used the story of one veteran’s suicide to move policy to help more veterans. These are stories that are often kept quiet, ignored. This compassionate observation only serves to help us enforce policies that are addressing the needs of our citizens. If we continue to ignore the personal problems, our laws and resources will lack the humanity to become truly effective. Compassion helps us to create and enforce our laws more effectively. (Illustration)