Question 2: Nerds (First Draft w/ Revisions)

Nerds: Society Heroes or Weirdos

Question 2

What was once a privilege and blessing of knowledge and education in society is now a seemingly embarrassing and shameful trait to have and reclaim as one's better attributes. "America Needs Its Nerds" by Leonid Friedman is an interesting passage that depicts an opinion of modern society that many can relate to; an argument that would be able to suppress society of its materialistic, primate generation of students. Fridman uses citations and statistics that would alter the audience's opinion, and also relatable emotional appeals to be able to grasp the speaker's intended lesson. To be able to understand the author's writing style, one must look at how the author lays his information out in a cunning sense of interest. 

"It is a telling fact about our language and our culture that someone dedicated to pursuit of knowledge is compared to a freak biting the head off a live chicken." Fridman introduces his opinion and belief by entertaining the amusing level of a social distortion found in today's generation; this method produces interest towards the subject and its ideals. He also writes "For America's sake..." as a tool to succeedingly  exceedingly relate his writing directly to an adaptable audience, which is commonly the average American. In much of his writing, he attempts to persuade an audience to abide by his word with amusement, nonchalant seriousness, yet adds depth and meaning to his laud back sense of comparisons. Another tool used for persuasiveness had been facts and statistics. 

Throughout Fridman's essay, much of the compelling statements and words that alter one's opinion is in the hands of stats and facts used by the author. Citing "A Webster's New World Dictionary" directly, the author gains a subconscious trust between the reader and writer instead of pulling out information out of one's own library of words obliviously. A combination of emotional appeal and statistics is also witnessed when reading about the significance of social distress in American education. "But not in America, where average professional ballplayers are much more respected and better paid than faculty members of the best universities." Excerpts like this could endeavor Fridman's ideals to readers and understand how their world was being affected and not just the narrator's.

Society builds the foundations of its communities, yet it also proves contrary to itself to endeavor in modest knowledge and fair subsidies to the hardships of everyday life. While we are pushed to be the ideal citizen; a happy, working, law-abiding man, society hypocritically commits various acts of malice and deceit but still questions the harmful nature in which cycles through its people. Just as parents are to their children, society is a reflection of its communities. While the perception of nerds have become less restricted since the 20th century, it still begs the fact that other topics and categories of life are being misinterpreted and lacks equilibrium between good and bad---right or wrong. Fridman simply writes to entertain his readers, yet are there within facts.