Verified Document

Danger Of Rhetoric To A Term Paper

Imagine what kind of leaders we would have if only false rhetoric existed? False rhetoric allows for the use of lies, manipulations, "spin" to become an accepted part of our political discourse - Bill O'Reilly is a perfect example of the false rhetorician. His "newscasts" are filled with verifiable lies, false facts, and rhetoric that is designed to appeal to a very specific portion of the country - hard-line conservatives for whom "truth" is predicated on a moral position. False rhetoric convinced the nation that Bush would be a good, balanced, fair, and reasonable President - and what is more striking, perhaps, is that Karl Rove and his like are actively stringing false rhetoric wherever possible with the goal of creating a permanent Republican majority - convincing people to vote for liars all because they cow-tow to their particular brand of morality.

Clearly, when used to explain a difficult philosophical position to others, rhetoric is the only real method that can be employed. but, it is just as easily corrupted to be used to soothe the egos of despots and the conceited. Rhetoric can be used to convince people that two plus two is five (a la George Orwell), because if the argument sounds reasonable enough, people can be convinced of just about anything. Thus, our democratic process is not a true election of the best person for the job, but an election of the best rhetoricians - liars by trade.
References

Plato. The Republic. New York: Penguin Classics, 2003.

Gordon, James L. The Rhetoric of Western Thought: From the Mediteranean World to the Global, 7th Ed. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt, 2000.

Sources used in this document:
References

Plato. The Republic. New York: Penguin Classics, 2003.

Gordon, James L. The Rhetoric of Western Thought: From the Mediteranean World to the Global, 7th Ed. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt, 2000.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Rhetoric in Great Speeches
Words: 4744 Length: 14 Document Type: Essay

Rhetoric in Great Speeches Cultural / Ideological Analysis Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) is credited by objective scholars and historians as having brought the United States out of the Great Depression, and as having guided the United States through the difficult and dangerous period during World War II. FDR was fiercely challenged by members of Congress when he was working to dig the country out of the Great Depression with his "New Deal."

Rhetoric of Critical Thought Common Analytical Errors
Words: 1437 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

Rhetoric of Critical Thought Daniel Kahneman, who wrote "Thinking, Fast and Slow," has spent many years dissecting the way people think, and how they arrive at thoughts. He is a psychologist who for many years worked with a fellow psychologist named Amos Tversky who passed away before the two could publish much of their findings and win the Nobel Prize. However, his greatest work, and Nobel Prize, were not for

Rhetoric Ethos Pathos and Logos Political Writing Analysis
Words: 1310 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Mitt Romney and John McCain Denounce Donald Trump as a Danger to Democracy" on The New York Times website is framed by two images -- one, an image of the "religious family man" that the Times calls Mitt Romney; the other, an image of the "profane, philandering self-promoter" that it calls Donald Trump (Burns, Barbaro). Thus, while The Times attempts to give a balanced, objective viewpoint on the clash

Concept or Rhetoric of Slavery
Words: 1080 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Rhetoric of Slavery The term "slavery" evokes forced labor where people are captured and made to work without being paid, where people are given barely any clothing and barely enough to eat, where families are broken apart and where those labeled as slaves are denied any rights that they should have as human beings. Specifically, the idea of slavery is applied to pre-Civil War American or to the Jewish people when

Dental Care the Purpose of Rhetoric's Is
Words: 2095 Length: 7 Document Type: Essay

Dental Care The purpose of rhetoric's is to persuade the reader to accept the authors' point-of-view. To that end, the authors take great pains in constructing their argument with emotion and pathos and certain structural stylistic skills that, he thinks, will best persuade the readers and grab their attention. Certain articles have to be written in a more authoritative tone than others, and other articles may have to be crafted in

Business Rhetoric: Drilling in the Marcellus Shale
Words: 3160 Length: 11 Document Type: Essay

Business Rhetoric: Drilling in the Marcellus Shale and Environmental Politics Inexpensive energy sources are a requirement if the country is going to continue to thrive the way it has for more than 200 years. The United States is trying to decrease the amount of fossil fuels that it uses in everyday applications. However, the worry is not the fuels themselves, but the costs associated with the fuels. Fossil fuels are a viable

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now