In the images of children in danger in frightening situations in Venezuela and near an ISIS-controlled area in Mosul, there is a huge amount of pathos on display for the viewer. This article will explore these two photos acting as individual aggregates challenging Lucaites and Hariman's claims that pathos in such photos can move people to take action for these children. This pathos, an appeal to the audience through their emotions, essentially overrides their logical or ethical responses. Rather than appealing to their desire to solve problems on the world stage rationally, through argument, or ethically, by focusing the story on its credibility or believability, the photographer presents the viewer with a photograph that attacks his emotional response and overwhelms him. They immediately feel they have to do something without understanding what. In other words, their ethical and logical responses to this emotional response are based on their sadness, disgust, and indignation and adapt to the need for immediate and reckless action that arises along with that emotion. In Venezuela, terrible food shortages are occurring due to the reckless economic policies of Nicolás Maduro, the country's president, who is attempting to go against US control over the global economy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay It's hard to know how to react in a situation like this. How should the rich countries of the world react when the Venezuelan government refuses aid from Amnesty International and the United Nations? Photographs create a huge emotional response without giving the viewer anything to do with that response, so the viewer does their best to forget it. In the photo of a naked little boy near Mosul being rescued from an ISIS-controlled area near Mosul, the viewer's pathetic response is much more dangerous. Their sadness and anger lead them to want immediate intervention, but there is not necessarily a good way to intervene in a conflict with many different parties in a foreign country that the West does not fully understand. These photos which are individual aggregates describe the story of each individual in these photos and show what children in these regions go through on a daily basis. In many ways, US intervention led to ISIS taking control of Iraq. Greater Western intervention cannot save the little boy in the photo, however pathetic the viewer's response may call for action. These individual aggregates lead to Lucaites and Hariman's article, “Visual Rhetoric, Photojournalism and Democratic Public Culture,” in which they dispute the claim that photojournalism, iconic images, and “individual aggregates” underwrite or undermine democratic culture. An individuated aggregate is “a trope whereby the population as a whole is represented exclusively by specific individuals” (38). This means an image of something bad happening to a person or some people that is intended to represent many instances of that bad thing happening and, therefore, encourage action and intervention. By looking at the two images I have chosen to examine, which depict children in Venezuela and Iraq facing terrible situations, it is possible to examine Lucaites and Hariman's claims in a critical light. Why should seeing these horrific and shocking images lead to a better ability to participate in a democratic culture? Lucaites and Hariman work on the mistaken belief that an emotional response will lead to effective participation. They also believe that a similar.