What a Fool Believes
The Doobie Brothers - 1979
My understanding of rhetoric comes from somewhere back in my long ago. In high school, I was a part of the IB program (International Baccalaureate) and received a certificate. Within the IB program, I took a two-year History of the Americas class that taught me how to think like a historian when analyzing sources. We learned how to “OPVL” a source, standing for Origin, Purpose, Values, and Limitations. We identified the origin and purpose, examined how they might affect the content of the source, and concluded what values and limitations the content had based on these. When I first looked at the Research Proposal assignment, I was very excited. I felt like I had a lot of good practice with source evaluation because of my previous experience with IB. However, I had trouble breaking away from that specific structure because it was so familiar to me. (I guess you could say those were the values and limitations of knowing the OPVL format for source analysis.) Where I started absolutely had an effect on the place I stand now in terms of my understanding and analysis of rhetoric and bias. It's not enough to say that the author is biased; you must explain why the bias exists, where it originates from, and know exactly how it affects the content of the source.
He came from somewhere back in her long ago
The sentimental fool don′t see tryin' hard to recreate
What had yet to be created once in her life
She musters a smile for his nostalgic tale
Never comin′ near what he wanted to say
Only to realize it never really was
She had a place in his life
He never made her think twice
As he rises to her apology
Anybody else would surely know
He's watchin' her go
What a fool believes he sees
No wise man has the power
To reason away
What seems to be
Is always better than nothing
And nothing at all
Keeps sending him somewhere back in her long ago
Where he can still believe there′s a place in her life
Someday, somewhere, she will return
She had a place in his life
He never made her think twice
As he rises to her apology
Anybody else would surely know
He′s watchin' her go
What a fool believes he sees
No wise man has the power
To reason away
What seems to be (if love can come and love can go)
(Then why can′t love be so much more?) Is always better than nothing
(Who's got the power?) And nothing at all
(Oh my)
What a fool believes he sees (he believes he′s never gone away)
No wise man has the power
To reason away (to reason away)
(Oh, if love can come and love can go) What seems to be
(Oh my love) Is always better than nothing
An excerpt from my Historical Investigation for my IB History of the Americas course, completed in December of 2024.
Source 2: Buffalo Springfield – for What It’s Worth Lyrics | Genius Lyrics, genius.com/Buffalo-springfield-for-what-its-worth-lyrics. Accessed 18 Dec. 2024.
My second source is the song “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield. Its origin is Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield, a prominent rock band that frequented the Whisky a Go Go, written just after he witnessed the Sunset Strip riots. The purpose is to inform and persuade: bringing awareness to the Sunset Strip riots while showing support for the protestors. The content is lyrics about Stills’ experience facing the riots and encouragement to do something about it. This source is valuable because Stills’ songwriting choices can be examined and used to glean information about the nature of the riots. This allows historians to connect verified historical facts to specific words or phrases, putting it in the context of its time period. However, this source is limited because the members of Buffalo Springfield are not political experts, so any claims they make are not guaranteed to be well-informed. This source is relevant to my investigation because it exemplifies the crossover between political activism and musical innovation.
An excerpt from the Opening Write for October 14, 2025.
Source: Boeing v. Raphael
Origin: United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, Opinion by Andrew J. Kleinfeld for publication. This is an official court document released for publication documenting the decision and process of Boeing vs. DTSC (and Raphael in her official capacity) over SB 990. Kleinfeld is the main official for DTSC and represents them as an entity. Boeing exists as a company because their capacity as a federal entity is important to the case.
Purpose: Documentation of a federal court case. Does not advocate for any side or opinion, but is meant to be accountable and transparent in explaining the process and result of the case.
Value: Shows the legal process and court decision in the highest federal court. Explains how exactly DTSC and SB 990 violated intergovernmental immunity and the Supremacy Clause through their bill and its enforcement.
Limitations: Only transmits publicly released information, and there is lots of legal jargon that is hard to digest or fully understand for someone unfamiliar with the field. The only consideration of the situation is what is applicable in a court of law. The localized audience is those who are familiar with law, especially federal law, and not those who are proximate to the controversy in other ways.
Audience mapping had a defining influence on my learning this semester, even though I grappled with the concept for almost the entirety of this course. Big and small assignments that encouraged rhetorical analysis kept sending me somewhere back in my long ago. Some previous experience is always better than nothing (than nothing at all!). I struggled severely and often with identifying localized audiences for different works, and struggled even harder with analysis of how the audience influences the rhetorical choices within the work. But, when it finally clicked, it felt like I had all the tools in my arsenal to write a rhetorical analysis that was well-rounded and nuanced. This happened about halfway through writing my Essay 2, but thankfully before my biggest revision (see I Like It, I Love It). Now, at the opposite end of this course, I can look back and see exactly where it started making sense to me. If I look back all the way towards the starting line, I can see how far I've come. Now I know What A Fool Believes: that just because they know one part of something really well, they don't have to keep learning about it.