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April 20, 2024, 04:52:24 am

Author Topic: Argument Analysis  (Read 387 times)  Share 

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aspiringdocxxxx

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Argument Analysis
« on: April 03, 2019, 08:40:39 pm »
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Hi guys!
I'm really struggling to find arguments to use in my language analysis piece and i'm not sure how i should structure the paragraphs. I would really appreciate any help! The article is below


The Netflix documentary, My Son the Jihadi, should be seen by every parent, and especially every dad. It's the stunningly open-hearted story of a devoted single mum, whose son leaves their home in suburban England to join the Al-Shabaab terrorists in Somalia.

Sally Evans raised two boys after her husband abandoned the family and set off a cascade of hurts that turned this young man into a killer who thought he was being a hero.
It's wrenching to see the normality of their family life, doing just what we all do with our children - holidays, playgrounds, school and sport - knowing that this all ends so badly. The last accounts of this young man’s life were of him cutting the throats of village men in front of their families, convinced he was part of a cause and going to heaven.
Terror experts traced a chain of events that has become familiar in Australia too - the departure of his dad when he was young, the breakdown of an intense relationship with his girlfriend, and then, as he grew more socially difficult - the loss of his job. He was ripe for recruitment by any male network that offered some meaning and care.

Specialists in boys’ development have long known that even in families with dads, mid-teen boys need to receive mentoring from other caring adults, and to participate in rites of passage that define and honour their adulthood, while also teaching its disciplines. Many of our best schools now offer special manhood (and womanhood) programs, usually in year 9, where being a good person is taught, and rites of passage are created jointly with parents to make this memorable and profound.
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Rites of passage help us to transition to a new level of life. They are so essential to human beings that if not provided, the young create their own. Our rites of passage today are dismal and without any sacred dimension - get drunk, get laid, get a driver’s licence, the aimless emptiness of "schoolies". These lack the key messages of adulthood - learning to care for others, and how to be good, and valued. Missing also is any sense of true belonging, of an adult world saying welcome. A US survey of a million high school students found that only 19 per cent felt valued by their communities. Is it any wonder this turns into a reciprocated lack of caring in the kids?
Terrorists, and crime gang members, are recruited by people who know how to press all the right buttons. But who is recruiting boys into responsible, enlivened, joyful, nurturing manhood? Does this reflect the decline of Christianity - or any secular alternative - especially in its lack of appeal to the young, its lack of fire or passion for justice and change?
Terrorism may be better understood as a new threshold on the continuum of male mental health issues along with the random killings of women, or men who trigger into violence in their intimate relationships as a response to the normal anxieties of life.
Most articles about male violence end with the weak exhortation that men have to change, without any actual strategy or insight into how. Into what makes one young man turn out caring and strong, and another violent and weak. So the cycle goes on.
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Some of the best progress being made worldwide is in Glasgow, where violence levels have halved, and in Chicago, which is now copying this approach. These cities decided to tackle violence as a health issue. As an epidemic that has to be vaccinated against, which means stepping in with individual young men, in their communities, and mentoring them, cooling down and processing the emotions after violent incidents so that they do not escalate. Or noticing who is badly dysfunctional emotionally and in need of a job, housing, help to get off drugs, or just plain alone and frightened. The solutions are largely up close and personal, and we can all play our part.
If you are a dad, then your son or daughter will almost certainly have friends without active or present dads in their lives. Invite them along when you take your son on a camping trip, a sports game, or concert. If you are older, volunteer at your local primary school to help children who struggle to read.
In the workplace or community, or if you simply know young men who might be at risk, step in and be a mentor, get involved, spend time, and insert some straight talk along the way about what makes a real man. How the love and respect of a woman is so much more rewarding than her fear. How to take pride in your work, cook good meals, choose friends well. And convey to him that he has worth.
A wonderful film about turning around delinquent kids in rural Australia is currently screening around the country. Backtrack Boys sends an unforgettable message as children who are so clearly headed for prison or an early grave are turned around by a small team of volunteers, who simply provide straight talking and consistent, unconditional love.

Terrorists, crime gangs, random killers, delinquent kids, violent partners, and dare I say it, dismal male political leaders, are all on a continuum. All lost boys.

Communities have to embrace young male energy, give it a purpose, and steer it carefully and specifically, with friendship, direction and warmth, towards real contributing manhood. Or the village, and planet, will burn.

Steve Biddulph AM is the author of The New Manhood, Raising Boys, and 10 Things Girls Need Most.