Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, according to Aristotle. Many in today’s society, however, detest that art.
“If it wasn’t for all these politicians using fancy rhetoric to deceive people, then America would be in a much better place,” says one.
However, such skeptics ignore an important fact about the art: its beauty is that it’s completely democratic.
In 2001, the United States was hit by terrorism attacks as the Twin Towers fell and the Pentagon burned. A field was also laid with the burnt remains of heroic Americans who downed another passenger airplane once they realized that the terrorist intended to crash their flight into something.
The result was panic and anger. Playing on these emotions, President George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan, but he didn’t stop there. The White House mentioned weapons of mass destruction that were in Iraq, which was under the rule of Sadaam Hussein.
Bush appealed to the American audience’s sense of passion, aka fear and anger, by telling them that Sadaam’s supposed weapons posed a threat to them. He used logic, pointing out how Sadaam used such weapons on his own people.
According to polls, many Americans supported the invasion of Iraq and, consequently, so did Congress. But no weapons of mass destruction were found. Also, the poor quality of life for Sadaam’s people — another emotional appeal that Bush used — deteriorated after the invasion.
Still, Bush won re-election in 2004. He appealed to the audience’s love of freedom and the virtue of spreading it. He even appealed to the audience’s perception of authority by pointing out that he was firm in his stance, unlike his rival, John Kerry, who couldn’t figure out if he was for the war or against it.
The left was livid: “How can Americans support a man who lied to them about weapons of mass destruction and who was administering over a badly ran war?” Both were appeals to the audience’s sense of authority and logic: Bush was a liar and not a authoritative figure, and he didn’t know what he was doing in regards to the war. Americans soon succumbed to those appeals and, coupled with the crumbling economy, they put Democrats into power in 2006 and 2008.
(FYI, Barack Obama’s appeals mainly consisted of emotion as he promised hope and change. He also used the aforementioned Democratic appeals of authority and logic.)
Why the teetering and tottering between left and right? Why can’t Americans make up their minds on where they want their country to go?
Without the polls supporting him, Bush couldn’t have rallied Congress to give him power to invade. Americans also gave Obama the ability to pass liberal legislation: without overwhelming electoral victories in 2008, the Democrats couldn’t have passed it.
And how did the right or the left get such power from the American people? By appealing to the people’s sense of logic, passion and authority. Bush did it in 2004, Democrats in 2006, followed by Obama in 2008.
If rhetoric has any fault at all, it is because it appeals to the senses of people who are senseless to what is good for them. For in democracy and rhetoric, the people usually get what they want.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.
