Analysis of Kristof’s “Do We Have the Courage to Stop This?”

Kristof claims that we are not doing enough to regulate gun control in the United States.  He argues that there are more regulations set in place for toy guns, food, and building codes than actual problems such as gun violence.  Kristof is trying to raise awareness to the issue of firearms not being regulated as intensely as they should be.  Furthermore, Kristof uses a variety of sources and evidence to support his claim referencing to emotional and logical appeals.  He primarily uses children to reinforce his argument as a way to convince people of the danger that guns present to the future generation of people.  He even uses the statistic, “Children ages 5 to 14 in America are 13 times as likely to be murdered with guns as children in other industrialized countries.”  Children represent innocence and freedom from corruption, however, when they are associated with a topic such as firearms, the subject shifts to exposing children and making them vulnerable to the threat of gun violence.  I believe this strategy is an effective way to persuade an audience because most parents (especially mothers due to their maternal instincts), are quite protective of their children.  Additionally, Kristof uses one of his Facebook followers as a source of information.  I believe that this source is not effective due to the fact that this follower is a random person who we do not know much about.  It would be more persuasive if the follower was a college professor or a skilled professional in this topic.  Moreover, Kristof uses his own personal experience to support his claim.  Specifically, he states, “I grew up on an Oregon farm where guns were a part of life; and my dad gave a .22 rifle for my 12^th birthday.”  His use of personal experiences convey that he has a full understanding of the topic of gun control.  Kristof comprehends the immense responsibility of owning a firearm from quite a young age.  This example is quite effective as it demonstrates how easily a child is able to get a hold of a gun while being underage.  Overall, Kristof uses strong and influential examples to support his claims and effectively raises awareness to this concerning topic (I even found myself enlightened by his argument).