Critique Paper-Bloom Article

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A Critique of “Observations From 20 Years of Iowa Life” by Stephen G. Bloom A drive through Iowa usually consists of corn field after corn field with the occasional farm. People who actually live in Iowa know this to be mostly true, but not always, and for the people who do not live on a farm, it is somewhat frustrating to hear this stereotype. Some Iowans haven’t even been to a farm and have just lived in the bigger cities in Iowa all their lives! For me, the stereotype usually does not bother me because it is usually just spoken by people who have not even visited Iowa, but since this piece was written by a long term resident, it actually disturbs me quite a bit. Stephen G. Bloom, a professor at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, wrote an opinion article titled “Observations From 20 Years of Iowa Life”. This piece was written to inform readers what Iowa life is actually like and also to try and persuade readers that Iowa should not be such a large contributor in Elections. Many of Blooms “facts” are harsh and demeaning and seem to downgrade Iowa life and the people who live in Iowa. I would say that Stephen G. Blooms’ main reason for writing the article in the manner he did was because of the large role Iowa plays in presidential elections. He firmly believes Iowa should not be such a large part of the elections and that we should definitely not be the first state to hold caucuses. Unfortunately for Bloom, his methods are quite inefficient, to the point where he angered too many people to be taken seriously. If I were from, say California, and read this article, I really do not think that I can believe anything he says! He seems too biased to be reliable! He even insults people by saying “geographically challenged, a little about Iowa, including where Iowa is and perhaps more importantly, in both a real and metaphysical way, what Iowa is” (Bloom 1).
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