Complications and Incorporation of Patriot Act in Life of USA

Summary

The essay “This Is Why Poor People’s Bad Decisions Make Perfect Sense” by Linda Tirado in the Huffington Post brings out the survival and the struggling story of a poor person in a classic US society. The essay sheds light on the life of a person who is living in a motel, doing two jobs a day, getting 4-5 hours of sleep, and still not earning enough to save money. Linda has shared her own story by explaining her day-to-day routine while she was pregnant and living on WIC. She stated that poverty snatches away the creativity and the desire to achieve something in life from people. Poverty makes people live their life without taking any risk because they know that there is no worth in trying for a better future.

Analysis

Poverty itself is a very big problem. It brings all other problems in life. One simply does not fight with poverty alone. The sense of deprivation, oppression, abandonment, and lack of motivation come with poverty. This is what Linda Tirado has explained in “This Is Why Poor People’s Bad Decisions Make Perfect Sense”. She is trying to give her perspective when she says that poverty snatches away the creativity and motivation of a person. One simply cannot take decision for the long-term future because there is no such thing. A poor person lives on a day to day basis.

Throughout the essay, Tirado has incorporated the two major forms of appeal, Ethos and Logos. The use of Logos is particularly prominent through uses of examples of her struggle. When she says “I never get a day off from work unless I am fairly sick. It doesn’t leave you much room to think about what you are doing, only to attend to the next thing and the next. Planning isn’t in the mix.(p.3 ll.15-18)” and her struggle through the pregnancy while living on WIC, she actually depicts the struggle of an average low income American. She has explained how living on frozen burritos and broccoli saved her while fulfilling her nutrition needs. According to the stats, WIC has been under severe criticism due to the strict policies. WIC has seen a sharp drop in participation by people since 2009. Participants have been shamed by the customers at the stores and shopping malls which have led to social stigma.

Tirado has raised the logos in this essay as she explains how hard it has been for her to do 2 jobs a day and take care of her child while sleeping for 4-5 hours a day. She also listed the Patriot Act which has hindered her from getting a credit card. She says “Most motels now have a no-credit-card-no-room policy. I wandered around SF for five hours in the rain once with nearly a thousand dollars on me and could not rent a room even if I gave them a $500 cash deposit and surrendered my cell phone to the desk to hold as surety. (p.3 ll.34-37)” Due to this, she is unable to get permanent accommodation. Though how patriotic and credited for the welfare of the US citizens, it may seem, the Patriotic Act has put complications for people who are already living hand to mouth. The use of logos rationalizes Tirado’s claim that poor people in the USA have no right to get any convenience. They cannot get a bank account due to the strict implications of the patriotic act.

The primary use of logos fits Tirado’s ideas in ethos as well. She has been writing a personal reflection. Being the author of the book “Hand to mouth: Living in Bootstrap America”, one can safely credit her for being a credible source for putting her point of view on this grave matter. Having experienced poverty and getting through a pregnancy while living on WIC, Tirado is speaking her heart out in this essay. She can be trusted in this regard as she has shared the most vulnerable yet the most struggling parts of her life with the readers to give them an overview of what life is like for a poor American citizen. She has been rejected at the jobs as she does not fit in their physical frame. As per the text “I would make a super legal secretary, but I’ve been turned down more than once because I “don’t fit the image of the firm,” which is a nice way of saying “gtfo, pov.(p.4 ll. 42-43)” Being a victim of this patriarchy and oppression, Tirado has rightfully written about the impact of poverty in the lives and the thought process of a person.[footnoteRef:3] [3: Cindy H. Liu, 2016. Concerns and Structural Barriers Associated with WIC Participation among WIC-Eligible Women.

The extensive yet detailed integration of logos and the stout contextual ethos stabilizes the essay’s formal use of language. The writer has been formal at some points while her tone has been informal like any person who wants to connect the readers of the class for whom the essay is written. Tirado has been informal and direct in addressing the audience when she says “I am not asking for sympathy. I am just trying to explain, on a human level, how it is that people make what look from the outside like awful decisions. (p.5 ll.80-81)” Tirado has not used any complex or abstract words in the text. She has been very directive in her approach while writing. When she says “We don’t apply for jobs because we know we can’t afford to look nice enough to hold them (p.3 ll.41-42)”, she addresses one of the biggest dilemmas of modern society. People who might be skilled enough to do any job are not given the job because they don’t fit in it. Their personality or their physical appearance is not what the job demands.

She has been directive when she addresses the issue of unemployment as well as poor financial conditions. She is that because she is addressing the common people when she says: “because I don’t “fit the corporate image.” I am not beautiful. I have missing teeth and skin that looks like it will when you live on B12 and coffee and nicotine and no sleep. (p.4 ll.44-46)” She takes full responsibility for her lacking. But when she accepts her lacking, she is indirectly addressing the government as well as the society which have been limiting the rights for the poor people. Tirado has given her own example to stabilize her argument. An average person in America who is living hands to mouth won’t pay any attention. Neither will they care for the future or long-term planning because they don’t have a source of income to save anything. Tirado has put the blame on the society.

With strong logos, Ethos, directive speech and informal tone, Tirado has proved her point that poverty is great resistance in the way of creativity. A poor person has a lot to worry about and long-term future is the least of these worries. Long-term planning is useless as it fails every time. The struggle on a daily basis is the real struggle. Poverty does not let you take risks. You have to make an awful decision because you are not given any choice. No one can judge the choice unless you walk in the shoes of the person.