point-counterpoint

Submitted by Pete Moore (United States), Jun 19, 2006 at 08:31

I would have appreciated some annotations from Mr. Pipes, to refute or respond to Ms. Elshazly's remarks in a point-by-point manner. This helps me keep these issues better organized mentally - it's common for me to be influenced by whatever rhetoric I am reading, because one generally has a natural tendency to sympathize with the writer at the moment that one is reading, though sometimes mental warning flags will pop up. Then afterwards, as the writer intended, a general feeling of sympathy towards a well-worded argument may linger, slightly clouding whatever understanding I originally brought to the issues. A succinct, ongoing point-counterpoint rebuttal helps me to retain my original clarity as I read this type of material.

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