BritneyLopez

ProfessorDeborahWeaver
ENC3315
1June2015

RhetoricalAnalysisofArgument

Notmanypeopleconsiderthefactthatalotgoesintoourindividualcarbonfootprintsinfluencing
Earth.Imsurealotofusworryaboutwhetherwearemakingabadimpacthowever.Everwonderhow
yourbadhabitsinfluencetheenvironment,iftheyevendo?Everwonderabouthowmanypeoplehavethe
samebadhabitsasyou?,Couldmothernaturebepunishingusfortakingadvantageofher?Weall
understandthattheworld'sresourcesareunderourcontrol.Dowedeservetousetheseresourcesatour
discretion?ThesequestionsareansweredinDavidSuzukis
TheSacredBalance:RediscoveringOur

PlaceinNature
.
In
TheSacredBalance,S
uzukifocusesonthepeoplewithlisteningears.Usuallythepeoplewho
aregoodlistenersaregoodspeakers.Everyauthorplanstocaptivatetheirreaderandpersuadethemwith
theirwordsofwisdom.ButnotSuzuki.Suzukiisplanningontheexpansionofhisidea.Thefirstpeopleto
startexpanding,aretheoneswiththebestears.Althoughitdoesnotcaptivateeveryreader,itsurewillstir
upemotionstowherethisarticlewillbespreadthroughthepassiononedevelopsfromreadingthis.David
Suzukisuseshispassionandemotiontocompelthereadersintofeelingthewayhedoesabouthumanity.
Suzukireferrerstousassuperspecies.Aremarkablewordtodescribeushomosapiens.What
makesussosuperaccordingtoSuzuki?Whenhereferstousassuperspecieshemeansthatweareso
overpoweringandpopulousthatwehavenoconsciousnessofourimpactontheenvironmentwelivein.We
conquerthegroundwestandon.Inhisdiscussion,Suzukistatesthatweareblindandignorantastowhat
harmwehavecreatedforourplanet.Weseemtobecreatingmoreproblemsbyfixingouradvances
(technology).Heseesthatwetakenaturetoomuchforgrantedalmostlikestealingandvandalizingfromour
ownhome.ThecommonpersonwouldthinkthatwhenSuzukisayswehemeansrecyclers,butno,he
meanseveryoneintheworld.Hesimplyingweashumanityasawhole.Nowithasbecomeatrendinour
generationtomakeourtechnologymoreecofriendlybecausetherearecontroversiesgoingaroundabout
ourenvironment.Itseemsthathiskeytargetistheyoungercrowd,becausewehavethecapacitytochange
theworldthroughoutthenext100yearsandsoforth.Someadultswhoaresetintheirwayshavetaken

advantageofthenewtechnologythathasntbeenecofriendly.Thepast50yearshasbeentheworstyears
forourecosystem.Asamemberofayounggeneration,wecanpassdownourgoodhabitsandknowledge
abouthowtobetechnicallysavvyandecofriendly.
InSuzukis
TheSacredBalance:RediscoveringOurPlaceinNature,S
uzukisharessome
solutionstowhatpossiblecouldbestaywithusforyearstocomeandhopefullychangetheworld.Although
hebelieveswearethecausetotheproblem,heshowsusthatwecanbethesolutiontoo!Heshowsusthat
byexplainingthelifestyleoftheHaidatribe,anindigenoustribewhohasinhabitedanisland,andtheir
effortsofsustainability.Guujaaw,amemberoftheHaidatribe,saystheirculturehasopposedloggingfor
years.Guujawstatesthattheymightenduplikeus(everyoneinadevelopedcommunity)iftheislandwere
tostartloggingtheirtrees.SincetheHaidatribeissacredinitsterritoryandhasbeenpreservedforsome
time,theydontseehumanityasawhole.Theyseehumanityasgroupslikecountriesandtribes,which
someofuscanagreeonwhenwecompareourselvestoothercultures.Sincetheyaremoreprimitive,they
dontknowthesciencebehindcarbonfootprintingandwhatittakestodestroylandandair,butinstinctual
theybelievethatlogginginthefirstcauseforafailureofsustainability.Itdoesnttakemuchsciencetofigure
thatout.ThefactthatGuujawtellsusthatifhistribestartlogging,theyllenduplikeeveryoneelse,leavesa
badimpressionontherestoftheworld.ThisinterviewbetweenGuujawandSuzukihaveabalanceof
knowledgeandexperienceaboutsustainability.AddingGuujawintothisarticlegivesthereaderabitofan
emotionaltwistbecausehestatesthingsalmostasiftheirtribewouldloseitsidentityiftheybecamelikethe
restoftheworldandtheywouldnolongertreasuretheirvalues.Thisgivesusabitofaguilttrip,buta
muchneededonetogetthepointacross.ItsfascinatingtoseethedynamicbetweenreadingSuzukiand
Guujawinteraction.Alltribelifestylesaroundtheworldtrulyknowswhatitsliketotreasuretheplanetand
aredisciplinedinusingresources.Theytreasuretheirtraditionalvaluesandknowingwhattheyhaveshows
thattheyareverygratefulandrespectfuloftheresourcesaroundthem.Theyactuallypridetheirworkon
makingtheenvironmentsustainableandnurturetheirland.Itseemslikethemosteffortwecandonowa
daysismakeanelectriccarorsolarpoweredwaterheaters.We,asinthemodernworld,takesomuch
technologyforgranted,weforgetaboutthethingsthatarenttechnology.Weworryalotabouthowtomake
acarbetter,howtomakeaquietermotor,orhowtofixelectronicseffectively.TheEarthdoesnotneed
sciencetofixit,itneedshumanhands.TheHaidatribeseemstobeonewiththeEarth,asforthemodern
worldseemstobeonewiththeirFacebookpage.Suzukiscredibilityisincrediblyvalidduetothefactthat
hehasstudiedthesetribesandprimitivegroups.Itsinspiringtoseesomeonecareandshareaboutthe
Earththatmuch.Weoweittothelandthatgavetous,wemustbebetterprovidersandsustainers.Suzuki
thenconcludedthatwearewhatsaroundus.Webecomeourenvironment.Ifourenvironmentistrash,we
begintoliveintrashaswell.Ihavebeenastudentlearningfromencounterswithindigenouspeoplein
manypartsoftheworld.FromJapantoAustralia,PapuaNewGuinea,Borneo,theKalahari,theAmazon
andtheArtic,aboriginalpeoplehaveexpressedtomethatvitalneedtobeconnectedtotheland.Theyrefer

toEarthastheirMother,whotheysaygivesbirthtous.Moreover,skinenfoldsourbodiesbutdoesnot
defineourlimitsbecausewater,gasesandheatdissipatingfromourbodiesradiateoutward,joiningusto
theworldaroundus(Suzuki,67).Inthisinterview,Suzukitriestopersuadethereaderthatlifebeing
ecologicallysustainableisarewardingthing.Ithelpsinmotivatingthereaderintoinspiringtobeecofriendly
andspreadingthewordaboutbeingmoreresponsibleaboutouractionsandbadhabits.Itsalmostasifhe
isscoldingtheadultsandinspiringthechildrentomakeachange.
Suzukilaysouthisargumentwithscientificnotationsandhistoricalnotes,whichmakeshis
argumentevenbetter.Hedescribesusinourrelevancetoevolutionandhowweareactingworsethanifwe
werealltobeapes.Ifeellikeheistryingtopersuadeusintoputtingourprospectiveoutoflineandtolook
atthebiggerpicture.Afteralltheenvironmentisthebiggestthingwehave.Heuseslanguagelikeapeand
infanttoshowthereaderhowchildishourhabitsareinthesensethatweignorewhatwethinkisbadin
hopingthatweneverthoughtitwasbadtobeginwith.Includinghimself,becausehumanityincludesall
humans,heuseswordstoshameourirresponsiblehabitswiththeenvironmentandhopestostiran
inspirationtogetupandfixourdamages.Wearethesuperspeciecesoftheworldandyet,wetreatthe
worldworsethananyanimal.However,Suzukistateswehadaresponsibilitytoactproperlytokeepthe
worldinorder(62).Wewerenomadsandgardenkeepersoftheworld,andthroughouttimewedestroyed
theseawithwar,destroyedtheairwithfactoriesandtarnishedthesoilwithwaste.Althoughwearemaking
advancestoanecofriendlyworld,howmuchmoremoneywouldittaketosustainuswithgreenhabits.
Suzukiillustratesunity,thatitisnotoneperson'sjob,butallofourjobs.Includinghimselfinthe
predicamentcausesaconnectioninemotionamongstthereadersandSuzuki.Asareader,wealmostjust
feellikesomeoneisscoldingusortellingusthebadnews,wheninrealitytheauthorispartoftheproblem
too.Ittakesonepersontorealizeandshowthatweareallinthistogether.Althoughhespeakstousoutof
concern,heshowshishopetousandtheknowledgehehasinhowwecanfixthedamageswehavedone.

TheevidencethatDavidSuzukipresentstomakeEarthmoresustainableisamixturebetweenhis
emotionsandfacts.Inhisarticleandwebsite,
TheSacredBalance
givesyouaperspectivebeyondfacts.
Althoughforthosefactdrivenpeople,hewasdoneawelljobhandlingshowingthatinformation.Hegives
ushisstoryabouthistimestudyingindigenoustribes/groupsandseeshowtheyhandlelivingaprimitivelife.
AccordingtohisinterviewwiththeHaidastribe,itseemstobeanexclusivearewardinglifestyle.Oneofthe
membersinthetribe,Guujaw,hasexplainedthatthislifestyleunitesthehumanidentityandnature.You
wouldtakecareofyourselfasyouwouldtakecareoftheEarth,viseversa,becauseyouareone.

Suzukisdefinitionofarewardinglifedependsonthefactthatnoteveryoneisthesame.Some
peoplecouldcarelessiftheyeatVeganandsomepeoplefeelproudthattheyareVegan,therearemany
differentdefinitionsofarich,rewardinglife.Richcouldbemonetaryorspiritual.Tosomepeoplearound
theworld,itbecomesastruggletobeenthusiasticabouthelpingtheenvironment.Itsselfish,butthereare
plentyofselfishpeopleoutthere.SeeingSuzukisenthusiasmhelpsthosewhoareblindaboutthe
conditionsofourenvironment.Thechallengeofthismillenniumistorecognizewhatweneedtoliverich,
rewardingliveswithoutunderminingtheveryelementsthatensurethem(Suzuki69).Thisquoteshowsthat
itthematerialisticthingsinlifecouldnothavehadhappenifitweren'tfornature,soweoweagratitudeto
protectnature.AlthoughSuzukiusesflexibledefinitions,itcanallbeeasilytranscribedthroughcontextclues
ofthearticle.Usingwordssuchasrich,rewardinglivesbringsademandforthereader'sattentionand
drawsthereadertoamorepersonallevel.Thisconceptishardforalotofpeoplewhoaredrowningin
technology,butluckilyforsocialmedia,thispointwillgetacrosstothousands.Thisisisntasimpleconcept,
sohedoesntsimplytellustostopourhabitsbutheexplainsandshowsuswhatisgoingonintheworld
andhoweveryindividualcanmakeanimpactontheworld.Theflexibilityinthedefinitionsallowthereader
tothinkaboutthemselvesandgivesthemachancetoreflectontheseverity.HoweverSuzukisreaders
shouldnotbeleftquestioninghiswork.Suzukigivesustonsofinformationtoreaduponandreflectuponbut
yetanswersallofourmodernizedquestions.Itsdefinitelyeasiersaidthandone,butseeingashowitwould
bringarewardinglifestyle,makesitallthemorebettertoachieve.

Tosumeverythingup,DavidSuzukiusesemotionalappealstoattractreadersandspreadtheword
abouttheonlyplanetthatweliveon.TheseEmotionalappealgivesthereaderaconnectiontotheauthor
andshowshowconcerningitistohavetheEarthssustainabilityatrisk.Suzukishasstudiedindigenous
tribesandprimitivebehaviortoseehowsimpleitistomaketheEarthamoresustainableandreliableplace.
Suzukisledsomanydefinitionsthatmadeusponderaboutourprioritiesinlife.Wetookwordsthathavea
flexiblemeaninganditbecameastirofconcerninourconsciousness.Youeitherthoughrightorwrong,but
Suzukireassuredusthatweareallonthesameboatashesin.Humanityincludeshumanintheword,so
nooneisleftout.Suzukihasdeterminedthathesgoingtomakeadifferenceintheworldbyhavinggreat
articlesonsustainabilityandinhopes,havepeoplepassonhisword.DavidSuzukihasusedfactsand
emotionalappealtoengagethereaderingettingexcitedaboutthechangethatcanhappen.These
emotionalappealsmakethereaderfeelremorseful,yetinspiredtoknowthatourproblemscanbecured
throughourselves.Suzukisanswersrevolvinghisdiscoveriesofindigenouspeople,liketheHaidatribe,
givetheaudiencewithanexampleofhowrewardinglivingalifewithmothernatureasyourprioritycanbe..
Lastly,Suzukiclearlyguidesthereaderstoapathoflivingnourishingliveswithoutjeopardizingour

environment.Suzukiisleadingmanygenerationstocomeinthedirectionofofhavingsucharewardinglife
hereonEarth.Thisargumentisproofweneedtochangeourhabitsandtheworldbeforeitgetsanyworse.