Scholarly Stances

It certainly can be befuddling sifting through articles to find ones that match the scholarly criteria.  In this case, I first noticed that the article was posted in a publication for psychiatrists.  This would imply a measure of objectivity, fairness, and scholarly tact.  I also noticed that the author is a medical doctor.  It therefore appears that we have a professional writing presumably to a group of professionals.  

Our author starts off by informing us of the disturbing fact that over the last 15 years, America has averaged two instances of mass murder per year.  He sympathizes with the prevailing notion that if we could only understand the psychology of the murder then surely we could prevent further tragedies.  He does however quickly dismiss this idea as simply not the case, revealing the limitations of psychiatric capabilities.  The point is made that with the broad availability of guns to the general public, murders of one form or another are wholly inevitable.  Our options then, he proposes, is to either accept mass murders as an occasional reality or to embrace gun control legislation.

This article's general message is clear and the rhetorical style employed is largely effective.  While I disagree with some of the conclusions made, the methods in which the arguments were presented are both fair and persuasive.  

Frances, Allen. "Mass Murders, Madness, And Gun Control. (Cover Story)." Psychiatric Times 29.9 (2012): 1-4. Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 13 Apr. 2013.