1. There is a simple way to put a big dent in the national human-organ shortage: Allocate organs first to the people who have agreed to donate their own. Giving organs first to registered donors would persuade more people to register, and that would make the allocation system fairer. People who aren't willing to share the gift of life should go to the end of the waiting list.
2. Okay, I've tried it for a week again this year, but I still don't like daylight saving time. My grass is brown enough already-it doesn't need another hour of daylight each day. Let's turn the clocks back to the way God intended- standard time.
3. The religious right, in its impassioned fervor to correct our alleged moral wrongs and protect the rights of our unborn "children," may one day realize its ultimate goal of a constitutional amendment banning abortion. And what will the punishment be for those caught performing or receiving an abortion? The death penalty, of course.
4. Most educators believe math instructors ought to emphasize group problem solving. If group problem solving is so important (and I think it is), why do we place such emphasis on individual testing? The national math test is a mistake.
5. If voluntary school prayer for our children is going to make them more moral, then just think what mandatory church attendance on Sunday could do for the rest of us.
6. A country that replaces the diseased hearts of old white men but refuses to feed schoolchildren, pay women adequately, educate adolescents, or care for the elderly-that country is doomed. We are acting as if there is no tomorrow. Where is our shame?
7. We cannot afford to close the library at Central Juvenile Hall. These young people, in particular, need to have access to ideas, dreams, and alternative ways of living. It can make the difference for many students who might become interested in reading for the first time in their lives while in Juvenile Hall.
8. If the death penalty deters one person from becoming a murderer, it is effective. There are also some other important reasons for having the death penalty. First, the families and friends of innocent victims have the right to see effective retribution. Second, terminating the life of a killer is more economical than keeping him in jail at the taxpayer's expense. Third, everyone will have greater respect for the judicial system when justice is carried out.
9. Regarding the bill to require parental consent for a minor's abortion, I would like to point out that the pious platitudes about parental authority quickly fall by the wayside when the minor wants to keep the baby and the parents say, "Don't be silly! You have an abortion and finish your education." If the parents can veto a minor's abortion, shouldn't they also be able to require one? Better the choice, either pro or con, be left to the girl/woman herself.
10. More than a million adult videos are rented each week. Nor, as the propagandists would have you believe, does viewing such material lead to violent sex crimes. If it did, there would be over one million such crimes per week.
The following selections were taken from letters-to-the-editor newspaper columns. Each contains one or more arguments, but the exact form of the argument may be hidden or ambiguous. Use the argument forms presented in this section to structure the selections as specifically named arguments.