Response to the assignment

I feel like I did okay on this assignment. I'm a little worried because I fear that my paper may be more informative than argumentative. But, I wanted the reader to know about my argument and get some background knowledge on my topic, which is why I decided to go into a lot of detail with explaining my subject. I wanted the facts concerning my thesis to support the argument I was trying to make and I think I did a good job with that.

Thesis: Those who work in public relations must have the ability to protect the reputation of the organization, company, or individual they are representing, but still be honest and open with the public.


I think that maintaining a balance between ethics and being a good publicist for whoever or whatever you are representing is essential for success. Publicists and the public as a whole should both care about this topic. Publicists must care about who or what they are representing and the public's view of whoever or whatever that is. Also, the public must have trust in these organizations, companies, individuals. In order for the public not to be betrayed or misguided, workers in the field of public relations have to do their best job at making sure the organization, company, or individual is presented accurately. I am arguing that people who work with public relation's can still make this happen by building trust with the public and serving their employer fairly. However, I do realize that sometimes the whole truth may not be very pretty. This does not mean that blatantly lying to the public or covering information up is acceptable. What it may mean is the public relation's specialist does what they think is right for everyone involved.

Response to David Foster Wallace's Commencement Speech

This speech affects my view of college in the sense that what we choose to study and get a degree in will be what we have when we graduate and are plunged into the "real world." However, in addition to learning about our specific field of study, we must also know much more about life and people. Being educated is not just about the major we pick. It is also about the way we think about everything else as well. I liked a lot of parts of this speech where he talked about awareness of others and coming to terms with the fact that we are not the center of the universe. People must be acknowledge that everyone has their own problems to face and that we must not be so selfish and self-centered. I also liked when he talked about "freedom" in the real world and how having freedom in our minds can allow us to better our lives and not be so burdened with boredom or routine. I did not really like the part when he talked about different things that people worship and how they can cause death (figuratively) and that what you worship "will eat you alive." I do not agree with that statement because I think that there can be positive outcomes as a result of worship. For example, worshipping a certain religion can cause you to lead a life filled with compassion and concern for others. It will not necessarily "consume us," it may just be something we place a lot of importance on.