Should We Cut NASA Funding Keith Yost Analysis

Now that the Space Race is over, what is the point? Are we wasting our money? Should we cut their budget? When the cold war ended with the soviets in 1991, it sparked up a debate as to whether or not the funding for the National Aeronautics and space administration should be continued. Although it may seem like a simple fix, it has proved to be one of NASA’s greatest and most difficult challenges yet. In the article, “Should We Cut NASA Funding?” written by Keith Yost, he answers the questions that have been the topic of debate for over 20 years. He states that it is predicted that in the Florida conference, President Obama will talk about the reductions that will be made to NASA’s budget. In his article, Yost takes a clear position on the

In his article he takes into account that, although NASA has made many discoveries, it is still not worth the amount that we spend to produce those discoveries. Yost believes that we should be more focused on the lives of our own people, than trying to “plant flags on planets”. The money can be put into other matter such as “MIT tuition” and “feeding and clothing the homeless”, which is much more beneficial than NASA’s results. Yost believes that we need to get it out of our head that someday the earth will inevitably explode, instead we should inspire children to believe that “human life on earth is sustainable” (Yost). Although Keith Yost provides a convincing argument through his use of counter-arguments, he relies too much on pathos rather than logos to support his claims, and displays frequent use of logical fallacies, making his argument

The use of counter-arguments is a great tool to have, due to the fact that it has the ability to boost your credibility with the audience. The first counter-argument that he uses is “It is true, NASA research has lead to many discoveries: besides its many advances in satellite and computing, NASA can also claim credit for more mundane things….” (Yost). He shows the audience, that he is looking at both sides of the argument, straying away from a one sided viewpoint. Although he does not agree with it, it strengthens his overall persuasion on the audience because it shows that he is well researched. In persuading the audience of his credibility, the overall effectiveness of the article will shoot up along with it. Another Counter-argument that he uses is “the more poetic among us say that NASA has given millions hope, that it is a symbol of ingenuity and ambition of the human race” (Yost). He sympathizes with the audience and takes in the viewpoint of the opposition. It makes people believe that he is giving them an effective argument. The use of counter-arguments is one of the best ways to persuade an audience of your claim. But its not the counter-argument that fully persuades the audience, it’s the rebuttal right after the counter-argument, where you crush the oppositions viewpoint. It pushes the audience off that thin line and onto your