If I decide to write a letter to the editor for a political candidate after the election, this would not be good kairos, or timing as explained in our text book (Ramage 116). It seems that not only are logos, ethos, and pathos needed for an effective argument, but kairos is needed as well (Ramage 116). If we don’t have good timing, then a good argument may fall on deaf ears.The best argument you have ever heard cannot be effective without it. In Chapter six there is a photo of a young woman with a green leaf over her mouth and nose that makes a mask and the subtitle of the photo is “Fancy a breath of fresh air?” and in the lower right corner is a new Toyota Prius Hybrid which is a good example of a visual argument (Ramage 117). That argument would not be near as effective, say 10 years ago before there was a lot of publicity about the rising fuel prices, ozone depletion and green house gasses. In the very fine print, the ad explains how it has taken 30 years to build this type of car which runs on gas and electricity and gets over 60 miles per gallon which appeals to everyone who has ever paid more than a buck for a gallon of gas (Ramage 117). It also describes how there is no stopping to recharge batteries which appeals to anyone who has driven or commuted for a longer period than 15 minutes and last describes how there are little or no emissions(Ramage 117). Last, they argue that “If everyone drove a Prius, we’d all be able to breathe a little easier” which appeals to anyone and everyone who lives on this planet (Ramage 117).
Of course if this ad was put out at the time of the big recalls, then the kairos of Toyota could have been very bad indeed. The Toyota recalls were probably enough to put off buyers for even this energy savvy vehicle. To put this ad out at the time of all the recalls would mean that Toyota was not attuned to acting in the right way at the right moment; they would not have been from a rhetorical situation thinking very kairotically but if they were put out at the bigging of a big rise in fuel prices their kairos was good indeed (Ramage 118).
Works Cited
Ramage, John D., John C. Bean and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings. New York: Longman, 2010. Print.
Sherry I have enjoyed the opportunity to be able to read from your blog weekly. I have a list of blogs that I follow on a daily and weekly basis, and yours is on the list. Even though our blogs are directed by the course study, yours is always enlightening. I appreciate your sense of humor, and admire your display of critical thinking. You should continue to blog independently of the class.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the points you brought out in regards to the Toyota Motor Company. Timing has not been on the side of Toyota for quite some time. They made an excellent decision by waiting on the criticism to die down before launching their new ad campaigns. Did you not find it curious that the mass amount of media coverage over recalls from Toyota came on the heels of the government taking over General Motors? That was perfect timing.
I believe the real discipline is having the patients to allow for the perfect timing to come around. Being able to capitalize on it when it does takes a special skill set that can be learned by all, but exercised by few. Enjoy your summer!