Ruben Navarrette Jr is a Mexican-American columnist for the Washington Post Writers Group. At the age of 28, he has reached great heights in his career. His columns are published in over 175 newspapers in the nation. He is both one of the few Latino syndicated writers and one of the youngest.
He is an editorial writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune. At the age of 26, he published his first book, “A Darker Shade of Crimson: Odyssey of a Harvard Chicano,” which focuses on his experiences at Harvard. Vindication, an essay he wrote about his struggles when beginning his writing career, was published in the “Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul,” the most successful Chicken Soup book.
It was difficult to center on one editorial from his archive of works. However, I found it quite appropriate to focus on the editorial “A bridge to Hispanic voters,” which focuses on one man, Juan Hernandez, a Hispanic volunteer for presidential candidate John McCain. Hernandez was known as the director of Hispanic outreach and his primary goal was to draw interest from the Hispanic community to support McCain.
His writing is rich with detail and long sentences. I found one of the most effective elements was the juxtaposition of Hernandez’s interests and the interests of the conservative Republicans. Both groups were focused on distinct goals. The goals were contradictory to say the least. “Meanwhile, down the hall, another portion of the campaign was hard at work…de-emphasizing his record of championing comprehensive immigration reform.”
This sentence gives a clear picture. The words down the hall bring attention to working in the same building, the same company, the same objectives. However, the rest of the sentence shows that this team in reality was pulling in different directions. The following paragraph is one word long, “Brilliant.” Its lack of length however, doesn’t take away from it power. Navarrette wants the reader to pause and ponder this inconsistency in McCain’s political strategy. The word brilliant is loaded with sarcasm, sarcasm captured by all readers.
Navarrette also describes Hernandez as being “roped” into a meeting focused on increasing Hispanic votes in McCain’s favor. One image of roped is that of herded cattle. Hernandez was not chosen to attend the meeting. He was compelled.
One of the simplest sentences in this editorial had the most significance for me. “They should have let McCain be McCain.” This sentence is placed towards the end to influence the reader. For me, the sentence suggested that years of political parties have forced people to support and view concepts from one side of the fence. Compromise is no longer an attribute for a politician. It’s all or nothing, an idea that could never be attributed to society. There are infinite shades of gray, shades of gray that political parties do not have room for or have carelessly ignored in their campaigns.
Navarrette’s editorials are simple. His meaning or opinion is not hidden in any form. He appeals to all groups and his readership is general. He is currently fighting for the Latino minority and breaking its barrier in the political field. Check out his opinions in the video below.
He is an editorial writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune. At the age of 26, he published his first book, “A Darker Shade of Crimson: Odyssey of a Harvard Chicano,” which focuses on his experiences at Harvard. Vindication, an essay he wrote about his struggles when beginning his writing career, was published in the “Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul,” the most successful Chicken Soup book.
It was difficult to center on one editorial from his archive of works. However, I found it quite appropriate to focus on the editorial “A bridge to Hispanic voters,” which focuses on one man, Juan Hernandez, a Hispanic volunteer for presidential candidate John McCain. Hernandez was known as the director of Hispanic outreach and his primary goal was to draw interest from the Hispanic community to support McCain.
His writing is rich with detail and long sentences. I found one of the most effective elements was the juxtaposition of Hernandez’s interests and the interests of the conservative Republicans. Both groups were focused on distinct goals. The goals were contradictory to say the least. “Meanwhile, down the hall, another portion of the campaign was hard at work…de-emphasizing his record of championing comprehensive immigration reform.”
This sentence gives a clear picture. The words down the hall bring attention to working in the same building, the same company, the same objectives. However, the rest of the sentence shows that this team in reality was pulling in different directions. The following paragraph is one word long, “Brilliant.” Its lack of length however, doesn’t take away from it power. Navarrette wants the reader to pause and ponder this inconsistency in McCain’s political strategy. The word brilliant is loaded with sarcasm, sarcasm captured by all readers.
Navarrette also describes Hernandez as being “roped” into a meeting focused on increasing Hispanic votes in McCain’s favor. One image of roped is that of herded cattle. Hernandez was not chosen to attend the meeting. He was compelled.
One of the simplest sentences in this editorial had the most significance for me. “They should have let McCain be McCain.” This sentence is placed towards the end to influence the reader. For me, the sentence suggested that years of political parties have forced people to support and view concepts from one side of the fence. Compromise is no longer an attribute for a politician. It’s all or nothing, an idea that could never be attributed to society. There are infinite shades of gray, shades of gray that political parties do not have room for or have carelessly ignored in their campaigns.
Navarrette’s editorials are simple. His meaning or opinion is not hidden in any form. He appeals to all groups and his readership is general. He is currently fighting for the Latino minority and breaking its barrier in the political field. Check out his opinions in the video below.
No comments:
Post a Comment