Scholarly argument on both sides example
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Jan 9, 2024
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American Music Artist and The Right to Freedom of Expression
University of Arizona Global Campus
PHI103 Informal Logic
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With many American music artist being held to high standards for their influence on the
American people and its culture they are often judged harshly for expressing their political or
personal beliefs. The judgement that American music artist often face for expressing their
political or personal beliefs can sometimes affect how we as consumers consume their products.
The focus of this paper will be to research the question of should American music artist
expressing their person or political beliefs affect the way that we as consumers consume their
products on both sides of the question and to evaluate the quality of each. I will state and
evaluate the reasoning behind each side of the argument and conclude with a discussion on the
value of each sides supporting statements in terms of their supporting factors in their
conclusions.
Presentation of an Argument that if an American music artist expresses their personal life
or political beliefs it should not affect how we as consumers consume their product.
Jermaine Cole (known as J. Cole), brilliantly and artistically explores ethics of public trust and
social equity in his record BRACKETS on the album KOD released in 2018. The hip-hop song,
which deals with satisfying desires, begins with Cole’s revelation that upon putting petty things
aside he began to see America for what it is: an oppressive regime. A fact that becomes amplified
by his fame and subsequent wealth. He argues that the primary mechanism of oppression in its
current form is governmental taxation. The song’s bridge then functions as a Greek chorus,
reemphasizing Cole’s main argument that by reconciling one’s desires with positive coping
strategies and taking on intellectual agency, anyone is capable of clearly seeing America as the
oppressive regime that it is (Starke, Jr. and Croft 2021). Jermain Cole (known as J. Cole) album
KOD went on to sale over 1,131,000 copies earning him a platinum certification.
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This is a prime example of an American music artist expressing their personal life or political
beliefs publicly and exercising their right to the freedom of expression without having it affect
their product consumption. The American music artist J. Cole used his status as a music icon to
express his personal and political beliefs through music discussing his discourse with social
economics and politics in America.
Premise 1:
American music artist have a right to express their political opinions.
Premise 2:
American music artist have a right to vocalize their personal beliefs.
Premise 3:
American music artist have a right to use their social status and platforms to express
their personal and political beliefs without judgement.
Conclusion:
American music artist personal life or political beliefs being expressed should not
affect whether we as listeners consume their product.
Evaluation of the Argument that if an American music artist expresses their personal life or
political beliefs it should not affect how we as consumers consume their product.
The reasoning that is being presented appears to be cogent with the first two premises appear
enough to support the idea that American music artist personal life or political beliefs being
expressed should not affect whether we as listeners consume their product. I believe that the third
premise is the least strong premise even though it is a specified statement on how the right could
be exercised. The article does not supply substantial support for the premises and the findings in
the conclusion as it does not state any information on why artist should be able to exercise the
right to freedom of speech.
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The article doesn't give support numerically in album sales number and success after the right to
freedom of expression was exercised but there is available data that shows that the American
music artist J. Cole sold over one million copies and achieved platinum status in album sales. I
believe that if I added another premise before forming my conclusion that it would make the
argument strong and cogent as well. The premise that I would add would more than likely state a
correlation between American music artist product consumption after controversial acts of
freedom of expression have been exercised.
Presentation of an Argument that if an American music artist expresses their personal life
or political beliefs it should affect how we as consumers consume their product.
On the other side of the issue, one could argue that even though American music artist have the
right to exercise the freedom of speech by expressing their personal and political beliefs publicly
they should not be allowed to do so without it affecting their product consumption. Social media
platforms have become the primary news source for many Americans. A 2019 Pew study found
that over half of U.S. adults (55 percent) regularly rely on social media for their news.1 Of these
respondents, 52 percent received their news from Facebook, while YouTube was the second most
popular platform at 28 percent, followed by Twitter and Instagram at 17 and 14 percent,
respectively.2 This evolution of social media as newsgathering often means sacrificing accuracy
for expediency. Misinformation should be taken more seriously, because it can lead to
devastating consequences. Posting false statements about people, even on social media
platforms, can cause reputational ruin, financial damage, and lost economic opportunities.
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Social media “influencers,” government officials, and even ordinary users can cause lasting harm
with the click of one button. To rectify these injuries, courts have extended the concept of
defamation beyond traditional media outlets like news publishers and broadcasters to include
statements made online to hold reckless social media users responsible for their posts.3 But
because defamation is (Dreibelbis 2021.pg 1)
Premise 1:
American music artist should not express their political beliefs to the general public.
Premise 2:
American music artist are cultural representatives and should not be able to vocalize
their personal opinions freely.
Premise 3:
American music artist consistently make mistakes in their personal life and are
viewable to be publicly judged by their mistakes.
Conclusion:
American music artist personal life or political beliefs should affect how we as
listeners consume their products.
Evaluation of the Argument that if an American music artist expresses their personal life or
political beliefs it should affect how we as consumers consume their product.
The reasoning in the article seems somewhat strong and cogent. The conclusion seems to flow
with the three premises and is supported by an example from the article. The article insinuates
that influencers which one could consider an American music artist to be could cause lasting
harm with the click of one button.
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There has always been an example of an American music artist that has seemed to abuse their
given right to exercise freedom of speech throughout history. In 2018, Eric Church found himself
in a heated political discussion when, in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting, he said that he was
a “2nd Amendment guy” and that gun rights were non-negotiable (people like to leave that part
out). But he also added that he wasn’t a fan of the NRA. He was immediately painted as a “gun-
hating liberal snowflake” by many, and to this day, we can’t post an Eric Church blog without at
least one comment like that, if not more. Forget the fact that he wrote and performed “Standing
Their Ground” to honor fallen police officers and first responders, forget the fact that his
grandfather was a police chief, forget the fact that he’s written songs like “Before She Does” and
“Stick That In Your Country Song,” the latter of which features a call to take care of our
veterans. And yet, some folks still refuse to listen to him. The very same fans who used to love
his music (Steve, W 2020. Pg1)
This would allow one to not need any more premise to
conclude that American music artist often abuse the right to exercise freedom of speech and that
therefore they should not be allowed to do so without it affecting their product consumption by
us the listeners of their music.
Evaluation of Arguments in Scholarly and Non-Scholarly Sources
In total I used three sources two being a scholarly source and 1 being a non-scholarly source.
My first scholarly source provided just enough information to support my first two premise but
did not supply substantial support for the third premise and the findings in the conclusion as it
does not state any information on why artist should be able to exercise the right to freedom of
speech. In order for my source to have been a strong support to my premise it would have had to
included cited survey information on the topic.
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My second scholarly source that was used in my argument against the topic was strong as it
included data with examples. I believe that no further premise was needed as it was both strong
and cogent. The third source I used was a non-scholarly source as it provided an example of what
some would consider abuse with the freedom of speech and it supported my second argument
against the topic.
Conclusion
In studying the reason on both sides of the issue I have found that one's perspective could be
easily argued either way if there is enough supporting evidence. When choosing a perspective to
argue from on a topic supporting and credible evidence will always matter and help to determine
which side is more than likely right.
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Starke, Jr and Croft (2021) Hip Hop as Political Theory: Exploring Democracy in J. Cole’s
BRACKETS https://eds-p-ebscohost-com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
vid=19&sid=57d73f4b-370d-4f32-afa8-7120b8234652%40redis
DREIBELBIS, H. M. (2021). Note Social Media Defamation: A New Legal Frontier Amid the
Internet Wild West. Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy, 16(1), 245–277.
https://onedrive.live.com/edit.aspx?
cid=d1f7330eb21fc0ff&page=view&resid=D1F7330EB21FC0FF!
146&parId=D1F7330EB21FC0FF!101&app=Word&wacqt=mru
Steve, W (2020, October 12). Breaking: It’s OK To Love An Artist Music & Disagree With Their
Politics. Whiskeyriff.
https://www.whiskeyriff.com/2020/10/12/breaking-its-ok-to-love-an-
artists-music-disagree-with-their-politics/
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