Rhetoric - it's not a dirty word!

"Rhetoric" has somehow become a dirty word. "That's just rhetoric" is meant as a put-down.

Until about a century ago rhetoric maintained a central place in education. It has since been replaced in the English curriculum by the study of literature. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against literature!... BUT - in the process we've discarded the study of rhetoric, which, at its heart, is simply the art of arguing.

We all like to argue.

I wouldn't be publishing this blog if I didn't enjoy argument.

I am not well-trained in rhetoric... but I try. At least I try to recognize the rhetorical tricks of my adversaries - and to learn how to get around 'em. The 'false dichotomy' is a very common rhetorical trick (and logical fallacy). "National security or human rights?" "Amnesty or Incarceration?" "With us or against us?"

The point of argument - the point of rhetoric - is not to score points. The point is to win the argument... 'winning' defined as getting others to do what you want 'em to do. In my case, I want others to recognize that our Constitution is under assault, that this is bad, and that unless we act, we - or our children - will find ourselves the happy citizens of a police state.

I recommend to my readers (?) the wonderful little book, "Thank you for arguing", by Jay Heinrichs. This is a book on classical rhetoric, written in a modern idiom. You'll like it!