Time To Assert American Values Essay

Not From the Mind Punishments for crime and bad behavior have been seen in different ways with some thinking we should be lenient and not give criminals hard times, while others thought that a more severe, brutal punishments to truly emphasis right from wrong. The articles “Time to Assert American Values” by an editor from The New York Times and “Rough Justice A Caning in Singapore Stirs Up a Fierce Debate About Crime and Punishments” by Alejandro Reyes both describe the trial of a teenage boy from the United States who was caught vandalizing in Singapore. Both authors of the articles examine in great detail, the punishments that the young boy should receive for his crime with both articles contradicting each other. After carefully analyzing

“Time to Assert” contains several opinion based facts within the argument when describing how to deal with crime. Within “Time to Assert,” it comments, “A case like Michael Fay’s is important because it provides a chance to challenge an inhumane practice that ought not to exist anywhere” (Time to Assert 179). This quote from the editorial illustrates no true factual evidence and supports more of a biased argument that is heavily based on the editors opinions. The editorial implies no evidence that effectively helps with supporting the argument. According to “Time to Assert,” it explains, “The Fay case provides a legitimate opening for American citizens and companies to bring political and economic pressure to bear in the propagation of freedom and basic rights” (Time to Assert 180). The quote reflects no relative information that helps sustain a good argument and instead appeals more to the emotion of the reader which causes the argument to lose some of its backbone. “Time to Assert” has a difficult time conveying its argument in a positive way because it revolves its argument around non factual information that starts to become