Saving Us from Oursleves

Welcome to the final Action Project for my first HUMANITIES class of Junior year - Rhetoric. Rhetoric is the art of persuasive speaking or writing, using figures of speech and other techniques in order to make it effective. Compared with previous units, in this unit we learned more about the history of rhetoric and how it has been used over centuries and has evolved. One of the biggest topics we went over was the history of the British Parliament versus the colonists of the United States. There was a war of words between America and England long before the revolutionary era. Although they were arguing with one another, they seemed to use the same rhetorical devices we use today to get their points across. For this action project, we were assigned to either write or create a piece of RhetoArt that symbolizes a current issue affecting the world today. I hope you enjoy!

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I am someone who cares about the world and the mental state of which it's people are in. The issue I decided to represent through this picture is called Nationalism. Nationalism is when a person(s) only cares for his/her country and ignores or belittles others. The reason I care about this issue is because of how it changes a person's behavior, affecting how they interact with others. What you see in the picture are ten flags of countries around the world tearing it apart, while the United Nations is desperately trying to hold the world together, like a bandage. Why is it the UN, you might ask? Well, in order to meet their Sustainable Development Goals, all people need to consider themselves as global citizens instead of only representatives of their country. If you are unfamiliar with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they are a collection of 17 global goals designed to be a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all." The SDGs were set in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and intended to be achieved by the year 2030 ("Sustainable Development Goals). In order to reach these goals, however, we all need to work together. My RhetoArt is conveying the message that Nationalism is one of the major issues preventing us from reaching the UN's Sustainable Development Goals on schedule.

Below are facts which support my RhetoArt:

- When people view the part of Earth they live on as a separate world, they work towards perfecting that one place, instead of thinking globally. As a result, they create controversy within their “little worlds.” For example, in 2016, 39,773 people died from gun-related injuries in the U.S., according to the CDC. In Australia, however, where gun laws are much more restrictive, there were only 238 gun-related deaths (Kiely). In America, the ongoing debates over gun laws are tearing our “little world” apart. All of the countries on our planet should learn from one another.

- When we don’t view Earth as a whole, major problems sneak up on us. Climate change is a perfect example of one of these problems. Large corporations and manufacturers are so focused on making money, they forget the impact they are having on our planet. In 2018, China emitted 13,119 MtCO2e/a and increased fossil-fuel consumption an estimated 2.3% ("China"). In this case, corporate greed is killing future generations.

- Some governments view immigrants as dangerous or burdensome on their countries. In reality, America is a nation of immigrants. President Trump wants to stop people from seeking asylum in America because he says, “America First!” It is selfish and racist to only care about your own country’s people. Immigrants and their U.S.-born children now number approximately 89.4 million people (28% of the U.S. population), according to the 2018 Current Population Survey (Zong, et al). Instead of trying to stop people from coming in, we should find better ways to accommodate them when they are here.

Even though I could have made a video or song, there are three reasons why I chose to represent Nationalism in a picture. One, some people, including me, are visual learners who need images to understand things completely. Creating this image is not just to help other visual learners, but it helps me convey my understanding of the issue. Two, I like to draw, by hand and digitally. I thought it would be nice to take one of the things I love to do to create a project that portrays an important and global message. Three, we should always search to see things from different perspectives. In this case, Nationalism looks like countries tearing our world apart - making it difficult to move forward on global issues. If this picture would be put up somewhere, I think it would be a great conversation starter for people who care about world peace and want to discuss the issues that keep us from reaching the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
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CITATIONS

“China.” China | Climate Action Tracker, 2019, climateactiontracker.org/countries/china/.

Kiely, Eugene. “Gun Control in Australia, Updated.” FactCheck.org, 14 Nov. 2017, www.factcheck.org/2017/10/gun-control-australia-updated/.

“Sustainable Development Goals .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform.” United Nations, United Nations, sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300.

Zong, Jie, et al. “Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States.” Migrationpolicy.org, 10 July 2019, www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states.