“The Best Reason to Go to College” by Pico Iyer is an Op-Ed about the lack of diversity in the world. However, the author mostly focuses on how he was truly enlightened to the lack of diversity and open mindedness as a college professor. He gives examples of open minded youth, and how the world should aspire to be like these. He also gives various examples to religious leaders, who promote inclusiveness and open mindedness. This article is a great read that restores a bit of hope in humanity.
“The Hands of Labor” by Binya Appelbaum is an Op-Ed about the hands. More specifically, how all hands are working hands, and how they reveal much about a person. The author uses Helen Keller as a main reference. Keller, deaf and blind, provides insight to how a hand can reveal much about a person, often more than the face or facial expressions. The article has twenty-seven photos of different hands, each labeled with different job titles and names, which go to testify that person’s story, so to speak. Though the hands might all provide striking contrasts, they all have their commonalities.
“I Used the Podium to Protest. The Olympic Committee Punished Me.” by Gwen Berry is an Op-Ed about racial injustice in the Olympic stadium. The author tells of an african-american hammer thrower’s dilemma. How, after she raised her fist to support the on going black lives matter protests, she was reprimanded and is now unsponsored. This is mind boggling in the sense that Olympians are portrayed to be the best, and are praised for their “…courage, drive, and tenacity.”. However, Berry will not be silenced, and she goes to tell us why the Olympic committee is on the wrong side of history, and her plan to stop their injustice.
After carefully reviewing these three articles, I have decided to proceed in analyizing “The Best Reason to Go To College” by Pico Iyer. I was surprised at the difference in title and context. I’d thought to be reading about funding and career paths. However, I was pleasantly surprised and moved by the optomistic tone. I feel this is the article I can best analyze because it has various sources and points of view.
I admire the self confidence I seem to have at the end of this post. I feel this foreshadows my improvement in writing after reading the article. Additionally, it shows me that if the topic interests me, I am far more likely to write better; social media is a topic I have always been passionate about. I was correct in the my analysis of this article, in that it did indeed contain various sources and points of view, which made it easier to analyze, synthesize, and comprehend.