Ramage Chapter Three

I can honestly say that Chapter 3 seemed clearer to me than the other chapters, perhaps because of illustrations Ramage gave like the section in "The Continuum of Persuasive Practices: From Propaganda to Literature" where he places propaganda and persuasion on one end of the spectrum and purity and literary texts on the other. Like we discussed in class, I also found it enlightening that he placed advertising, salesmanship, and talk radio call-in shows close to propaganda because when I previously thought of propaganda it usally was centered around politics.

A little bit earlier Ramage says, "Many people subscribe to systems of belief that, for them at least, fulfill the role of the old fixed orders in laying out their priorities and defining their choices." If your mother was a stay at home mom and your dad was the bread winner of the family does that mean that you will be filling that same role one day? It reminds me of so many of my friends from high school who went away to college because that was "what they were supposed to do." On the other hand there are others who believe what Ramage says, "Our beliefs , values, relationships, status, and all things that matter most deeply to us are also subject to negotiation and evaluation." I think these are the people who don't worry so much about what they're supposed to do, but instead reflect on what they truly want to do. And because they are constantly reevaluating so many aspects of their life they aren't trapped in one specific role.