As i continue to read the Lost Mountain, I become more and more intrigued on the facts he displays. I also tend to look at some of the writing strategies he engages in, in order to capture the readers attention and be able to tie everything he talks about to Mountain top removal.
Reece continues his quest to keep finding more and more examples that support the removal of Mountain top coal mining. One example that stood out to me the most, was the way he presented the argument with the flying squirrel. He likes to make the reader become emotionally attached to an item then turn around and tie it to the mining. As I started to read this section, I found myself luring from the main fact of this book and focusing on the flying squirrel and its existence. I wanted to know if they had caught any squirrels intead of learning more about the coal mining. Reece tends to do this a lot when it comes to different subjects and sometime he tends to go to far in my opinion. But one thing he does well is no matter what he talks about, he always finds a way to relate it back to the coal mining. If we dont stop the mining, then the squirrel i became attached to, will become extinct. It also caught me by surprise when he factored in the religious aspect and how the mining was also destroying churches and because of it, a whole congregation had to relocate. This would capture the attention of any religious person. Its like he thought of all the different types of people there are in the world and try to relate to each one with these specific examples he uses. It a very good strategy to use when trying to persuade people.
Another good aspect he brings up is about Steven Griles and how he basically gave the go ahead for mountain top removal coal mining. Its not surprising to note that even though he already made a lot of money from coal, he still made the decision. Why not make more than twice as much even though it may harm those that are not in the position of power? They knew that when it came down to it, it would be rare to prosecute the coal companies for breaking the law while mining because those who it affected were not in a position of power and not have the money to take anyone to court. It took someone in a position of power to introduce the harmful affects of coal mining to the world, and it should not be like this in our society. Its a shame that a place that used to be looked at as paradise, is nothing more than a mining disaster just so more people can become rich and the rich can get richer.
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I love your point about Reece's including religious people with his example. He also discusses religion here and there and says he was raised Baptist but had not been a church-goer for many decades. He is critical of churches that do not confront injustice. This explains why he is so positive about the African-American preacher's stand against the coal companies.
ReplyDeleteDid you also notice in the first chapter that he says that he is pantheistic? That single statement relates him to a large number of people of alternate religions, particularly those that worship the land. Of course, this whole book would appeal to those who worship the land, but still, early on, he hooks the non traditional religions, and now he speaks to the more traditional religions. He really is a genius at influencing the minds of his readers, isn't he?
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a very good point about Reece including all types of peoples interests, trying to relate them all to the mountain top removal. I also became attached to the flying squirrels in the reading, which ultimately created anger in me when I new that they also were in danger of becoming extinct. Very well written paper and greats thoughts about the authors strategy.
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