Friday, October 30, 2009

What I've found

I was surprised to learn about the DADT (Dont ask, don't tell) policy regarding gays in the military, and how an investigation can occur just based on a suspicion that someone is gay.

Some major perspectives: Gays should be allowed in the military. Gays should not be allowed to serve in the Military. New media includes useful tools for expressing opinions about gays in the military. New media is not helpful for activism regarding gay rights. i think I might make an argument about how new media includes useful tools that show how gays should be allowed to serve in the military.

Opposing Viewpoints--- In order to really understand how I feel about this topic, I will research the opposing viewpoints by dividing this whole big complex issue into parts and developing my thoughts about them.

Testimonial--- I think that with my topic, I will be able to look at blogs and facebook groups about gays in the military and I plan to quote these types of sources directly to add a personal touch to my paper.

Authority--- I expect to find an official governmental statement about this policy that I can refer to in my paper and analyze on my own without reading other places about people's reactions to it.

Cause and Effect--- as I discuss a history of the development of civil engagement online, I can share information about what technological developments caused other means of expressing opinion online to arise.

7 comments:

  1. I like that you are writing about this because it is not something that is talked about a lot. It is good to show both sides of the argument.

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  2. I commend your interest in writing about this, but if you really want to research, you might want to check out the website SLDN, which has many resources as well govt docs about DADT. If you want to hear from service members that are actually living under the DADT, Gay Military Signal or you in checkout my own blog for one. You may think that it's not talked about much locally, but this issue is gaining more and more press each day. And it needs to be. Later months, it'll be one of the most covered issues in media with the Senate hearings in Nov. We need people like you to make people more aware of this issue, because it does personally affect people's lives such as myself. I just want to understand this more and not see it than just another writing assignment for your college English class. Our lives matter too.

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  3. I think that this is a really interesting topic. I don't know if these blogs are for personal opinion but I do not believe that Gays should be in the military because they pose very difficult circumstances for not only them but for other members of the military and it only provides distractions that will hurt.
    I really appreciate that you are researching this topic because I have really not heard about it.

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  4. This is a pretty risky topic, especially for BYU, in my opinion. I'm glad that your writing about it because its like a job in a way, they can't ask you questions about your sexuality, religion, age. It's something thats needs to be talked about, because we need more people to serve for our country, especially if they are willing to do it.

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  5. Very intriguing. I definitely don't know as much about this topic as I probably should...but it would be interesting to research. New Media definitely has a huge impact on helping small groups have a voice, which plays a major role in society today.

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  6. I agree with Melissa E about the riskiness of this topic. However any public issue shouldn't be out of line anywhere, especially in an academic institution like BYU.

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  7. Sorry to disagree with you once again, but I do believe there are some topics that maybe should not be talked about just anywhere. Sure there is a place for them, but sometimes that place is not an educational facility. I am not saying however, that this topic fits into that category. I believe this is a very pressing issue in our society today and should be talked about as such.

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