America Needs its Nerds Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

In the article “America Needs It’s Nerds” by Leonid Fridman, the author speaks out against popular American culture and the belief that people who seek intellectual achievement are fundamentally lesser than those who don’t. Fridmans main argument is strong and to the point, “There is something very wrong with the system of values in a society that has only derogatory terms like nerd and geek for the intellectually curious and academically serious.” This quote shows how serious Fridman is about his argument, and serves to launch his argument forward. Through strong appeals to both logic and emotion, as well as a powerful diction to pose questions intentionally very difficult to answer, Leonid Fridman creates an exceedingly difficult to argue against. 

Fridman’s argument is filled with questions that appeal to both logic as well as the audiences emotions. Questions like, “How long can America remain a world class power if we constantly emphasize social skills and physical prowess over academic achievement and intellectual ability?” Questions like this, while posed and worded seriously, are really meant to be rhetorical. The above quote is very difficult to answer as the audience of the article knows that the answer is not much longer. 

Moreover, Fridman uses very strong appeals to logic elsewhere in his argument by comparing the U.S to other countries that are steadily passing the U.S in technological pursuits. In lines 41-46, Fridman states, “In many parts of the world, University professorships are the most prestigious and materially rewarding positions. But not in America, where the average professional ballplayers are much more respected and better paid than faculty members of the best universities.” Fridman’s argument is further exemplified by this quote, not only by comparing issues in the U.S to other problems also in the U.S, but by comparing the singular issue in the U.S to the rest of the world. Fridman knows that many other countries are surpassing and have surpassed the U.S in terms of technological advancements, and the only logical reason for this is that those countries treat intellectuals better than America does.