Milton Friedman begins his argumentative essay by quoting the words of Oliver Cromwell, “I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken.” (Friedman 306) Oliver Cromwell was an infamous ruler of Great Britain during the seventeenth century. However, he was effective and devoutly religious. By using a quote by Cromwell, Friedman establishes an authoritative figure. Later in the first paragraph he is trying to connect with Bill Bennett by using pathos. “The drug war cannot be won by those tactics without undermining the human liberty and individual freedom that you and I cherish.” Friedman is appealing to Bennett’s emotions by telling him how the new laws and propositions will damage people’s liberties and freedoms. Something that both Friedman and Bennett hold dear in their hearts. The second paragraph is Friedman telling Bennett how he also agrees that drugs harm American society. By doing this Bennett understands that Friedman and most of the American public realize the damage illegal drugs do to the country.

However, there is a shift that occurs in the third paragraph. Friedman tells Bennett that he is wrong about the methods Bush and Bennett advocate for on the war against drugs. Doing so requires the author to have reasons that support his stance. This is an example of how Friedman uses logos to further his argument. The use of logos does not stop there however, as it appears many times throughout his essay. Within the third paragraph Friedman starts to advocate for the decriminalization of drugs as a solution to the drug epidemic. He does this by saying how the illegality causes harm to the country. “Illegality creates obscene profits that finance the murderous tactics of the drug lords; illegality leads to the corruption of law enforcement officials; illegality monopolizes the efforts of honest law forces so that they are starved for resources to fight the simpler crimes of robbery, theft and assault.” (Friedman 306) The repetition of the word illegality serves to bring attention to the notion of illegality, and how it created the issues stated.

Friedman uses his appeal as an authority on the topic by bringing up excerpts from his column “Prohibition and Drugs”. He is representing himself as an expert on the topic so when he says making drugs decriminalized means crack does not exist and people will not become addicts it gives him merit. Friedman goes further and states that “[…]hundreds of thousands of potential victims would be saved, and not only in the United States. The ghettos of our major cities would not be drug-and-crime-infested no-man’s lands. Fewer people would be in jail and fewer jails would have been built.” (Friedman 307) These sentences serves as both logos and pathos. Friedman reasons that with drugs legal it improves the lives of people living in slums. It is also appeals to emotion, because who wouldn’t want to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people? To save them from the perils and dangers the Drug War has caused on the social fabric of America? Especially someone with such a high governmental position as Bennett.

Friedman is urging Bill Bennett to decriminalize drugs as soon as possible, and warns him that postponing it would make the situation worse. His seventh paragraph acts somewhat as an warning about drugs. Friedman brings up the argument that drugs should be sold the same as tobacco and alcohol. To back his claim he states, “Alcohol and tobacco cause many more deaths in users than do drugs.” (Friedman 307) By introducing these topics and the idea of treating illegal drugs the same we treat alcohol and tobacco Friedman is applying logos to his stance in the attempt of making Bennett see the benefits of decriminalizing drugs. This is furthered by telling Bennett that if the government allocated a fraction of the money it spends on enforcing drug prohibition to rehabilitation and treatment that drug usage would decline.

Finally the letter ends with a plea from Friedman himself. “This plea comes from the bottom of my heart. Every friend of freedom, and I know you are one, must be revolted as I am by the prospect of turning the United States into an armed camp[…]” (Friedman 307) This heartfelt plea to Bennett plays to his emotions and his beliefs. Milton Friedman was a renowned libertarian in America, and so placed individual’s personal liberties at the highest priority. He personally addresses Bill in the letter, in the hopes of him reversing his stance on fighting drugs by painting a picture of what the US would turn into if nothing is done to legalize drugs. This grim vision of the future would make the reader, Bill Bennett, question if what he is doing would actually alleviate the American people or dismantle their rights and liberties.