Bottled Up Fear

Bottled Up Fear

Who knew a bottle of water could be so dangerous? Believe it or not, the neurotoxins, carcinogens, and cancer causing benzene found in bottle water come free; you don’t even have to pay for them. According to Joshua Ortega, Americans need to fear bottled water and oppose privatizing the water industry at all costs. After all, it is our patriotic duty. Ortega uses heavy doses of fear and occasional over-exaggerations to impose his view upon the readers, hoping to worry them into taking his side. Using the fear aspect of pathos and the factual side of logos, Ortega attempts to sway his readers into shunning bottled water and taking active measures to prevent the privatization of the water industry.
Joshua Ortega is maybe best well known for his work on comic books such as Star Wars, Batman, and Spider-Man. He currently writes for the Seattle Times and his topics usually focus around emerging technology. Seattle is a mainly a liberal state whose citizens aren’t too keen on change. A majority of the population, 62% to be exact, is between the ages of 20-54 and about 70% is Caucasian. Primarily, those reading Ortega’s editorial will be working, white, and liberal. The tools and strategies of rhetoric he uses are all centered around this audience as he attempts to persuade them to take an active part in preventing the water industry from becoming privatized.
From the very beginning of his article, it is easy to recognize Ortega’s desire to appeal to pathos and incorporate fear into his argument. The opening statement, referring to “clean, unpolluted, affordable water”, states that, “there is nothing more important in the world – but it’s in serious danger.” (146) The word choice of “serious danger” subconsciously implies many things in a readers mind. When talking about water, these could be things anywhere from scarcity to intense pollution in our water systems. No matter the implications, what matters is that the reader is instantly worried about having adequate water that is “clean, unpolluted, and affordable”.
An important component of Ortega is his fear causing diction. His careful choice of words with negative connotations strikes fear in his readers. He carefully chooses words that have a negative spin. Whether we like it or not, subconsciously some words just make us worried and paranoid. Just a few lines later after his opening, Ortega claims that in a 1999 study, “sampled bottled waters contained know neurotoxins and carcinogens such as styrene, toluene and xylene.” (146) Now, I for one have no idea what those chemicals look, smell, or taste like. However, when the words “neurotoxins and carcinogens” are used as adjectives, innocent words such as “styrene” and “toluene” automatically transform into something harmful and deadly. These words automatically strike fear and cause alarms to off in the reader’s mind, suddenly making something as plain and simple as bottled water look harmful. Another example of this careful word choice can be found in this statement describing benzene: “[It] has caused cancer in lab animals.” Again, fear enters the reader’s mind when they read the word cancer and we see bottled water in another negative light. Ortega is careful to include these damaging descriptions to make sure it is clear to the reader these things must be avoided. No matter the subject, careful diction can twist a perfectly natural, harmless interpretation into something much less desirable, causing the audience to drift towards Ortega’s side.
After appealing to pathos and causing the readers to feel fear, Ortega proceeds to use the factual aspect of logos to solidify his argument. His argument now shifts towards water industry privatization and he begins by noting that the major disadvantage of this is the lack of accessibility the public will have to previously available records. Obviously this will cause the public to lose knowledge about what is going on behind the scenes. This lack of knowledge will lead to an inability to raise concerns or complaints about the water we as consumers are drinking. In addition to using the lack of knowledge argument, Ortega begins to use drastic examples from major countries in order to sway his audience. For example, Ortega references France’s situation after privatizing the water industry. He claims that “when the French privatized their water services, customer rates went up 150%” (148). This was a smart choice of supporting evidence from Ortega because so much of American society is centered around money. Anything involving more costs for American citizens will be frowned upon. Ortega uses another big name when he cites the situation in Great Britain. Water corporations in this country were accused of 128 infractions over an eight year period (148). Although it would be nice to know what the specific details of some of these infractions were, it does raise the question of how much these corporations get away with when so many problems are caught. It isn’t clear if Ortega was using privatization as supporting evidence as to why bottles are bad or if he just wanted to put in his ten cents worth about that particular issue. Ortega uses bottles as a symbol of the water industry and for an example of what can happen if corporations are allowed to take over the industry. Ortega incorporates logos into his argument in order to influence to the reason and thoughts of his audience; getting them to think as he does.
Complimenting his use of pathos and logos, Ortega also incorporates slight sarcasm and overstatements as tools to produce a dramatic ending that calls his audience to action. This example, in my opinion, is somewhat cheesy but in the end it does make the reader stop and consider Ortega’s proposal. When addressing the issue of the role individual Americans should play in preserving public water, Ortega states, “It is our patriotic duty as Americans to ensure that it stays that way” (150). This statement arouses feelings of pride in Ortega’s audience and is a definite example of using pathos to stir the emotions in those reading your words. Telling the audience they have a “patriotic duty” brings a sense of obligation and a feeling of wanting to do whatever it takes to protect their country. Duty, honor, and obligation are strong words that call the audience to action. The overstatement provides a dramatic ending to Ortega’s argument and leaves his audience wanting to make a difference.
Ortega’s use of fear and diction is well placed and well timed; a clever way to distract his audience from his permeable argument. For one, the time periods of the studies that Ortega cites are somewhat out of date. One study is from the 1990s and the other begins in 1989. There have been improvements in the composition of water bottles since then. Federal organizations are set up to control and regulate the production of products so that they are safe for consumers. Ortega’s could strengthen his article and subsequent argument if his studies were current. Pathos provides the base of Ortega’s well-built argument, but with out of date evidence, it may leave his readers wondering what applies to them today.
Pathos and logos combine in this opinion editorial to form a one, two combination that is quite effective. Ortega’s appeal to pathos through fear draws in the audience and makes them listen. The transformation to factual evidence is smooth as Ortega lays it all down for the audience once he has their attention. A call to resist change falls on open ears as the majority of Ortega’s readers are liberal and support the status quo. A call to action leaves those activists already involved more motivated to not give up while striking courage in those still waiting to join the throng. As citizens of this country, this is a topic worth noticing. Privatization of the water industry can lead to increased bills and unchecked private operations within corporations. Ortega states, “Taking away your water is the same thing as putting a gun to your head” (150). He knows water equals life; he argues that being an American is about standing up and protecting that which is rightfully ours: the right to the pursuit of happiness, liberty, and life.