TOW #1 - The Great Unease

     Roger Cohen is currently a writer for the New York Times, though he spent many years working and travelling through Europe and the Middle East. His real-life experiences in conflict zones - and his works on war and conflict - likely helped build the perspective he shares in this article.

     Cohen explains how society's obsessive materialism leads to a general "unease" and unhappiness that should not be in our lives. In making his argument, the main analogy used is that of the airport, which he compares to a "jewelry [store]. After the Sapphire members boarded came the Ruby members and then the Diamond folk followed by the Platinum people" (3). Cohen uses polysyndeton to emphasize the utter ridiculousness that comes from a concept of material "success."

     Cohen also uses antithesis to show the confusion created by such a world. He writes, "They have access to everything and certainty about nothing" (1). Cohen emphasizes how with so many options, people no longer know what is supposed to be the best. He describes a scene in which people ran "helter-skelter between 'fast-track' and ordinary track, seemingly unable to establish which was moving faster, tormented by the thought that they might somehow be losing out" (6). The imagery concretizes the idea of unease, shown by Cohen to stem from a fear of losing one's status and material wealth.

     From there, he develops the counterargument: material gain isn't nearly as fulfulling as emotional and spiritual growth. Once you stop worrying so much about losing a few spare minutes or dollars, you suddenly have more time and resources for others - "for acts of spontaneous generosity, for surprise visits, for being sidetracked, for idle conversation, for the gestures that forge community" (8). He lists these actions (enumeratio) to emphasize their importance, so often overlooked.

     The article is aimed towards everyone, though most simply the usual readers of the NY Times Op-Ed column. From those who guiltily recognize themselves as the airport-dashers to those who pride themselves on rejecting all things materialistic, the author manages to provide each reader with a take-away. The author accomplished his purpose, even if not to convince a reader of a life transformation but just to consider stepping back to think.