A Warm Liquid Feeling in my Chest

As I sat by the television watching the news about President Barack Obama's first day in office, I took the time to read Emily Yoffe's article "Obama in Your Heart" on Slate.com. In this well-crafted article, Yoffe ventures into the wonders of "elevation", a feeling of psychological elation amongst a large group of people, a feeling that 66 million people shared on Election Day, and a feeling that over a million people in the Mall of Washington shared on Obama's Inauguration Day.

Emily Yoffe's audience is most likely intended for all-ranged liberal readers who range from college students to elder citizens, all of whom either are interested in the field of psychology, are supporters of the Obama Campaign or who are excited for a fresh start in Washington. Yoffe is clever in capturing her audience's attention (and mine as well) by mentioning the idea of creating emotion in a lab (though she did say it would be a problem to do it) in the beginning of the article. She then appeals to logos by mentioning the spectacle of "elevation", claiming that it's caused by stimulation of the Vagus Nerve. Yoffe she effectively reinforces the logos by rementioning the nerve as well as correlating its activity with breastfeeding mothers in a study where thay had to either watch an inspiring episode of Oprah or a clip of Seinfeld, all the while their patterns of lactation was monitored.

Based on reading this article, I could tell that Emily Yoffe is most likely a Democrat and that she wants to bring out a political side of the article. It is quite noticeable when she concluded that those who did not feel the sensation of "elevation" during Obama's rise to the presidency were most likely Republican, or that it felt like "Plunging from the Obama-lofted height" when a supporter watched a McCain/Palin ad. She evidently uses pathos when she stated that "Disgust carries with it the notion of contamination, which helps to explain the Republicans' obsession with Bill Ayers, Tony Rezko, and Jeremiah Wright..." evoking feelings of anger and disgust. In the end, she brings back the repeated theme of that "warm liquid feeling in people's chests", effectively using pathos to wrap up the article in an optimistic feeling, a feeling of progression and a sense of looking forward.

Overall, I think this was a great article. Yoffe manages to blend in two different fields and captivate interest in both the psychological and political fields at the same time. I reccommend this article for all young college readers out there. And in all honest, even I had that "warm liquid feeling" inside my chest when I saw Obama get sworn into office Tuesday. Maybe they should experiment on me too.

Well, you just got served a nice batch of burnt rice, once again! Have a great day ;-)