We live in a remarkable time in that our voices now have a global reach. Prior to the invention of the internet, if one wanted to have his or her opinions heard, the average person was limited to expressing them among friends and family. A person could perhaps write a letter to the editor, join a protest, or be interviewed for radio or television, but not until the introduction of the internet to the public during the 1990s could people have their opinions heard in real time and by a global audience. Now it is quite possible to influence the views and beliefs of another person living across the country or on the other side of the globe, simply by expressing your opinion online.
Sadly, however, the internet is now awash in personal insults, emotional attacks, and other forms of vitriol, especially when debates involve current events, contemporary issues, or our most deeply held beliefs. Instead of debating these issues in a rational and civil manner, which is the only way one can hope to change someone else's mind, people trade insults online, further entrenching each side in their original positions and making compromise all but impossible. This online divisiveness is no doubt partly to blame for the sharp emotional divisions that have come to define political discourse in the United States.
The purpose of Unit III is to practice conducting rational, fallacy-free debates about events and issues currently in the headlines. Since your audience consists of both sections of the Advanced Composition course I am teaching, you should conceptualize your audience as being filled with members of the general public. As such, your tone should be formal enough for an audience that includes people you have not necessarily met before, and your writing should be civil and free of logical fallacies, including personal insults and attacks when responding directly to another person's comment.
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