Blog Stage Four

http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2018-04-04.html#read_more

Ann Coulter's article "We used to care about one another" caters to an audience most likely associated with Donald Trump's base. Ann Coulter's credibility, based on my previous reading, is questionable in that she seems to very much rely on fears that her audience already have, rather than strong evidence to support her claims. From the beginning, it is evident that Coulter is using a false historic American ideal as a basis of comparison to persuade the reader that we "used to care for one another". Some of her examples include workers in the mid-west and Floridians devastate by natural disaster. To use natural disasters, occurances that are much beyond our immediate control, as a way explain that we used to care is a weak argument already. If one is going to compare a former glorious and "caring " America to the disastrous one we apparently currently inhabit, why use a situation that hardly involves changes in administration? She continues to state that all countries have their issues, that "  Like all countries, we would squabble, but we were family. We were all Americans," . What strikes me is that she refers to past America with such an endearing term as family. Family for who? It is important to recall these squabbles she so casually chooses to brush under the rug. To claim that American's used to care for one another is to completely ignore the injustice and discrimination that so many Americans have experienced. The squabbles are real and valid disagreements and attempts for many Americans to reach their basic rights. Her family that she refers to only includes middle class white Americans, which directly reflects in her intended audience. I strongly disagree with her claim that America used to be such a caring place, as many have suffered (and still continue to struggle) for basic rights and justice. Her America was a place of opportunity for a very specific demographic, and to say that the struggles for fair treatment for all were merely squabbles is to undermine the hatred and stigma many still face. I disagree with her choice to use a false American safe haven narrative to take jabs at the "Dreamers" and others who seek opportunity in this country. It is beyond frustrating to see Coulter use the idea that "true Americans" used to care and look out for one another, but that now government is only interested in helping "outsiders". Of course the reach of government has changed in foreign affairs due to globalization. To claim that the immigrants are hurting a once "prosperous and caring" America is absurd.