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Sandra Bullock

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Submitted By hansen94
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1)
Text 1 – The Sandra Bullock Trade
Text 1 is written by David Brooks and was brought in The New York Times in 2010.
In the beginning the text focuses on Sandra Bullock’s life. She has just won an Academy Award for best actress, but beneath the surface, something seems to be very wrong.
Brooks uses Bullock as an example of his later conclusion. He puts a spot on the relationship between happiness and economic wealth.
According to Brooks there is something a lot more important than economic wealth. “Marital happiness is far more important than anything else in determining personal well-being”. Brooks uses a lot of statistics to support his points of view. From one of the statistics, he deduces that winning the lottery does not make you any happier. Instead he tells that we are happiest after our retirement.
“The overall impression from this research is that economic and professional success exists on the surface of life, and that they emerge out of interpersonal relationships, which are much deeper and more important”. The main point in this text is that marital happiness is way more important than economic wealth.
Text 2 – But will it make you happy?
Text 2 is written by Stephanie Rosenbloom and was brought in The New York Times in 2010.
It focuses on the fact, that we are in an economic crisis and we do not spend as much money as we did before the crisis. Because of that, we have to use our money properly.
“..people are happier when they spend money on experiences instead of material objects..”. This claim is a generally assumption in the text, and Rosenbloom keeps talking about how it makes you happier, when you spend your money on an experience instead of plain old stuff.
Fashion lovers disagree with Rosenbloom. The fashion journalist Hayley Corwich says, “I could pull out things from my closet that I bought when I was 17 that I still love”.
In spite of this pronouncement, the request from Rosenbloom is: Spend your money on experiences instead of material junk.
2)
Brooks uses a lot of statistics based on studies of consumption and happiness. It makes it more reliable, and we are influenced by this. “According to one study..”. “This is the age of research”. This is an example of ethos argumentation.
He also refers to a lot of scholars and researchers. “According to Carol Graham of the Brookings Institution”. “Research by Donald A. Redelmeier and Sheldon M. Singh”. This is just another example of ethos appeal.
In spite of the fact, that Brooks uses all these statistics and refers to Scholars, the message is very clear, and something all citizens can relate to. We are all searching for happiness in some way, so this topic definitely hits bull’s eye.
Brooks also uses pathos appeal. He talks to our heart, and sometimes he lays it on thick. “If you have a successful marriage, it doesn’t matter how many professional setbacks you endure”. It might be right, but we also want to hear this. My point is that the reader is engaged because Brooks tells us what we want to hear. It would be awful if he presented proves, which showed that money makes you happier.
3)
Would you be happier if you were richer?
Maybe I would not be happier, but money creates opportunities. And that is a fact, no statistics or any scholar can change. Of course money does not buy happiness. But it is still some kind of a safety valve, and if you use the money responsible, I really do not see the problem.
But I really agree with Rosenbloom. If the basic needs are fulfilled, a lot of the surpluses are irrelevant. But “basic needs” is a very indistinct conception. And as Rosenbloom tells, we compare ourselves with the neighbors. And this comparison displaces the limit. My question is just, where do we end up? We look at our neighbors and think “I want that too”. And it really is a destroying circle.
All these comparisons are not just a personal aspect; it is also in our society. Maybe I am going too far, but I allege that all these comparisons spoil our welfare state. But maybe it would not be that terrible. Singer talks about how greedy for money we are, and the invention of the currency was maybe not that genius.
Maybe he is right; money really can make us go nuts. Just take a look on Greece. The country is in ruins, and countless demonstrations take place in Athens. Most of the demonstrators are not poor, the basic needs are fulfilled, and the only explanation of their fit of rage is greed. So it does not seem like lack of money makes you happier either. So how can we express anything about the happiness value of money?
I really do not think we can. And I do not think money has anything to do with happiness. As previous said, the basic needs have to be fulfilled, but after that, money does not do anything. It creates opportunities, but opportunities are not happiness.
It is a very complicated topic to deal with, and the fact is actually, that there is no answer of this important question.
Made by Frederik Kold Jensen

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[ 1 ]. Text 1 – Side 2, linje 11-12.
[ 2 ]. Text 1 – Side 3, linje 41-43.
[ 3 ]. Text 2 – Side 4, linje 11-12.
[ 4 ]. Text 2 – Side 4, linje 19.
[ 5 ]. Text 2 – Side 4, linje 39.
[ 6 ]. Text 1 – Side 3, linje 37.
[ 7 ]. Text 1 – Side 3, linje 16.
[ 8 ]. Text 1 – Side 3, linje 22.
[ 9 ]. Text 1 – Side 3, linje 7.
[ 10 ]. Text 1 – Side 3, linje 12-13.
[ 11 ]. Text 3 – Side 6, linje 1.

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