NDAA and 5th grade Recess The NDAA is short the National Defense Authorization Act. It is a United States federal law specifying the budget and expenditures of the United States Department of Defense.Each year’s act also includes other provisions. The provisions signed into law by President Obama in the year 2012 make it hard [...]
Copy Writing and Emotions Every word you write and every sentence you utter makes up this thing called you. I was asked to start a blog and impart some of what I know about writing copy. I thought I would make it more personal, since that’s what writing is really about. Telling your [...]
The NDAA is short the National Defense Authorization Act. It is a United States federal law specifying the budget and expenditures of the United States Department of Defense.Each year’s act also includes other provisions.
The provisions signed into law by President Obama in the year 2012 make it hard to believe we live in free society. To give you an example of what this law entails, I’ve written a short story below. Enjoy.
Imagine being in fifth grade again. It’s time for recess and you are walking outside towards the playground with the rest of the class. As you enter the playground, you watch some of your classmates run. Some of them run to the swings and some go over to the monkey bars. Recess is the time where you get to play and do what you want.
That’s when you notice the new kid. He has a different color than you. He also talks in a different language. He is sitting alone. You decide to go talk to him.
His English sounds a little comical, but you can understand what he is saying. The next thing you know you are telling each other jokes and having a good time. That’s when you glance across the playground and see someone else staring at you.
As he looks at you from across the playground he waves his hand for you to come over. You know who he is. He has said things about the new kid that are not very nice. You say goodbye to your new friend and start walking across the playground.
As you walk towards the monkey bars to meet him, you see him joking with some other friends. Some classmates do not like him. They think he is a bully. You know him as the “enforcer.” You know if you don’t go see him, it will somehow get you in trouble.
When you get there you feel something strange is going to happen. He asks you what you were doing with the new kid. You tell him you were just talking. That’s when the others grab you and put you into the monkey bars.
“Why are you doing this?” you ask. “Because you were talking with the new kid” is the reply from the enforcer. You are scared and say that you want to talk to the teacher. “No, you will not talk to anyone. You are my prisoner.” Says the bully.
You are trapped in the monkey bars. What was once an area of fun, has now become a makeshift prison for you. No one is allowed to speak to you. Your friends, your family, your teacher cannot talk to you. You are all alone.
This fifth grade scenario is a real life threat to the American people. Under the new NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) that was signed into law by President Obama, Americans can now be arrested and held without trial if they are suspected of “hostile” acts.
Imagine being locked up in jail with no chance of proving your innocence. You have to sit in your jail cell until your captors decide what to do with you. No one can visit you. No lawyers. No friends. No family.
As you sit there you start to wonder things like, “How can this be?”
The NDAA of 2012 makes this a possibility. While you were off playing, the “enforcer” of these United States decided to change the rules. Now Americans can be arrested and held forever. Not being able to speak to anyone.
The right to a trial by jury. This is what is missing. The right to prove your innocence before a jury of your peers. Even while at war, we must maintain our Bill of Rights if we are truly going to protect ourselves. If we don’t, we leave it up to the bully’s to decide what happens to us.
I am not saying that U.S. government is a bully. What I am saying is that not having a right to a trial by jury can ruin American lives and liberties. Mistakes happen. The right to a trial by jury is just one way we ensure someone is not wrongly charged of a crime.
How many American lives will be ruined before we want to change the NDAA? Will it be too late to because protesting the NDAA is now considered a “hostile” act?
These are real questions we must ask ourselves. The right to a trial by jury should never be erased. No matter how bad things are. We need this basic right to protect us from injustices that can occur.
The current NDAA should be cancelled. It needs to include the right to a trial for someone who is suspected of hostile acts. There is too much room for mistakes without it. Mistakes that can ruin people’s lives. Not just the people being accused, but their friends and family as well.
Imagine sitting in the monkey bars for the entire recess. As a fifth grader, it would seem like an eternity. Yet, for some Americans, this eternity could be a reality.
Every word you write and every sentence you utter makes up this thing called you. I was asked to start a blog and impart some of what I know about writing copy. I thought I would make it more personal, since that’s what writing is really about. Telling your customers how you can to solve their problems with your product/service is just part of the process.
Getting people to connect with you on a personal level is where the the art of copy enters in. It doesn’t matter if you are just starting out or the head of corporation. Look at at Steve Jobs. As the head of Apple he still had the ability to connect with people on a personal level. An emotional level.
Emotions are the glue that makes your message resonate. Here’s a simple example. Let’s say you are in the business of producing clothes dryer sheets. They are synthetic sheets that you toss in the dryer to help soften your clothes and remove static cling. First, make a list of the features of your dryer sheets:
Not much there to work with. Let’s add the benefits of your dryer sheets:
OK, now we’re getting somewhere. The benefits start to hit on an emotional level. They describe things that we want. Features of your product/service are the physical aspects. How much does it weigh. What color is it. What superb new technology is involved. When describing the features of your product/service, you want to point out all the tangible parts to it.
Not much there when you’re talking about dryer sheets. That’s where the benefits take over.
Benefits of your product/service are the emotional aspects. What your product/service will do for the customer. How will it make them feel. Since we don’t really know how it make them feel, you have to tell them how you feel when you use the product/service.
Let’s start putting it together:
Super Soft & Fresh Dryer Sheets leave my clothes feeling soft and fresh on my body with no static cling.
Compare that to:
Super Soft & Fresh Dryer Sheets are light weight with a synthetic design and come in a convenient box of fifty sheets.
See the difference?
The first part to writing copy is to make a list of features and benefits of your product/service. In the next post, I’ll show you how to dig deeper into the soul of your customer and find out who they really are. In doing so, you may just find out who you are.