Summary Of Toni Smith A Leader Is More Than A Messenger

A Failure to Score Support Politics has become increasingly present in every aspect of our lives. Clearly, this is not a new occurrence. Toni Smith’s article titled “A leader is more than a messenger” published in The Sporting News proves that. The article was published in 2003 so it begs the question “Has politics always been embedded in everyday life, and no one cared, or is this new?” It does prove that taking a knee during the national anthem is not a new form of protest. It has always been a rather effective way of getting people’s attention. However, did Smith succeed in persuading the reader that she was just in her protest? Smith’s usage of pathos, ethos, and logos will be analyzed, her overall impact on the reader, and effectiveness

Her use of pathos is one dimensional, only appealing through vague shots at sports media, celebrities, and politics. The usage of pathos doesn’t create a cohesive emotion for the reader to feel, rather it divides readers into two camps, those who agree with Smith and those who don’t. Smith’s use of ethos was disappointing and not functional. She attempted to set up her credibility by saying she is a Division III athlete, however, this is placed towards the end of the article. The reader knowing who Smith is crucial to understanding the beginning of the article. Then after saying she is a Division III athlete Smith concedes that no one pays attention to or care about what Division III athletes do anyway. She admits no one cares what she does, so why should the reader care about what she's writing? Finally, the usage of logos in the article is the weakest appeal. Smith uses facts with no backing. The usage of good rhetorical questions cannot save you when the facts are baseless. Looking at the surface level this article can appear to use rhetorical appeals quite well, however, digging in shows the lack of knowledge on how to execute them