Rewrite

My experience reading the NY times has been a terrible one. In fact, I'd even say I grieve doing it. Every morning I have to wake up an hour and a half before class and read the news. I find most of the stories negative and depressing, especially the ones about foreign policy. I find there is a small bias in the NY times occasionally but for the most part it is a very reliable news source. Recently I have been reading a lot about the problems in Syria and the middle east. The controversy around this region is incredible right now and with Russia and China petitioning the UN security councils call for peace Syria has gained international backing. I am intrigued to see how the UN will respond to this. The middle east seems to be at a cultural turning point which is why I am so interested in the region. As far as my literacy habits are concerned I really feel as though they have changed an incredible amount for the wrong reasons. In general however I feel keeping up with current events is a great depressive detriment to society and the individual. You can read about anything in a newspaper and the wide range of topics covered allows for a very wide demographic, that is, if you enjoy reading about starving children as you sip your morning coffee and eat that oh so delicious bagel. Recently I read a blog post from one of my peers from China regarding the cultural differences between China and the US and the difference in work ethic between the two countries. Hearing her perspective on the issue was a bit odd at first but overall enlightening. This event brought to light the reality of the stories I read about every day and the important nature of them all. Reading her post made me realize that these events aren’t just stories from a far-away land but that real people are going through these events. So in some ways the news is important, however, it still does not change the tone of the reports. People simply don't want to hear about depressing things. 




I rewrote and revised this argument from a pro news stance to a more negative news stance. I attempted to do this by changing keywords throughout the passage. What was originally "Crucial" became "Important" and occasionally I replaced certain sentences as well. The important part to me was that the story's essence remained constant in both passages.