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 By Jack Lepiarz Nov. 14, 2006 I've said before that Emerson College is so incredibly liberal, that it almost makes me want to become a Republican. Well, I decided to see what it would be like to take a viewpoint very differet from my own, and try to successfully argue it for 8-10 minutes in my Speech Communications class. I got to thinking, "Hm... what's something that will offend 90% of my class?" I thought about the war in Iraq. No. Too easy, and everything's already been said. I thought about abortion. I wouldn't touch that with a 20-foot pole. I even considered gay marriage, and then promptly decided against it. Many Emerson College students happen to have different sexual preferences than I do, and I decided that getting lynched wasn't a good idea. And then I had a conversation with someone where they compared me to Nick Naylor, the slick-talking tobacco lobbyist from the movie, Thank You for Smoking. Perfect. In this world of anti-smoking and anti-big tobacco, I decided that I would defend big tobacco. Already I've made a case in my head. I can talk about advertising, huge lawsuits, and all the "many" cases where companies like Philip Morris USA are "bullied" (as I'll say in my argument). Of course, there are certain points I make that I do actually agree with. For example, I don't believe that smoking companies should have to spend 500 million dollars a year on anti-smoking ads. Secondly, I don't think that people who get lung cancer after smoking 3 packs a day for 44 years should get 80 million dollars from smoking companies. And I also don't believe that smoking ads (at least most of them) are particularly misleading. Definitely not any more than any other ad campaign in America. In reality, smoking ads do exactly what every other ad in America does. They use sex. They show someone attractive with a cigarrette in their mouth and that's essentially it. As part of my presentation, I found about 15 advertisements for other products that do the exact same thing. For example, I had no problems finding Abercrombie and Calvin Klein ads with scantily clad young men and women. I found more than one alcohol ad using sex. Everything from automobiles to razors, milk, chocolate, and (here's the kicker) even toothpaste. I'm actually really enjoying myself on this project, simply because it's such an absurd thing to argue. I don't smoke, I have no intention of smoking any time soon, and I don't advocate smoking, but it's still fun to see if I can actually make a decent argument here. So far, I have a lot of ideas, but it's still a ways before I organize any of them into a real, cohesive argument. ------------ About the author: Jack Lepiarz is an 18-year-old college student at Emerson College in Boston. He also co-hosts the Katherine and Jack Show on UthTV.com and has been performing various circus talents for the past several years. Though often described as stubborn and egotistical, he tries to keep an open mind and treat others the way he would like to be treated. Email: Jackwuzhere42@aol.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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