A little over 7 years ago, I wrote a blog post about the importance of debates in Presidential politics. Obama was running for re-election against Romney, and they were debating each other about a month before the election. At the time, I wrote: "As I surfed Fizzborg, the Twitter, and other haunts of the political … Continue reading “Debates Don’t Matter,” and Other Silly Notions
Category: rhetoric
I Will Tell You Everything I Know in 1,000 Words or Fewer
As I prepare to give a talk at an upcoming conference, the Conference on College Composition and Communication, I'm stuck by a complication in the task that lies ahead me. The talk I'm giving is about public intellectualism and the push among academics to do more public-facing, publicly-consumable work. It's about making what academics know … Continue reading I Will Tell You Everything I Know in 1,000 Words or Fewer
Demagoguery and the Dangers of “Extreme Democracy”
I recently published an academic article, “Using Democracy Against Itself: Demagogic Rhetoric as an Attack on Democratic Institutions,” where I wrote about “extreme democracy” as a form of demagoguery (The abstract is here. If you want to read the whole thing, get in touch). Specifically, I argued that a consistent—perhaps defining—characteristic of demagoguery is that … Continue reading Demagoguery and the Dangers of “Extreme Democracy”
Anti-Compromise Rhetoric, Rabid Factionalism, and the Threat to Democracy
Project Veritas (or PV, for short) released a new “gotcha”-style video exposé this week in which a Bernie Sanders field organizer, Kyle Jurak, makes a series of troubling, violent claims about what will happen if Bernie isn’t the Democratic nominee and eventual President of the United States. Much as I hate to say it, I … Continue reading Anti-Compromise Rhetoric, Rabid Factionalism, and the Threat to Democracy
Electability Politics and the Dwindling Democratic Diversity
Cory Booker suspended his presidential campaign this morning, leaving Andrew Yang, Tulsi Gabbard, and Deval Patrick as the only remaining candidates of color in what began as the most diverse candidate pool in American presidential history. According to RealClearPolitics’ poll averages, Yang is polling at about 3.5%, Gabbard at 2.3%, and Patrick didn’t even make … Continue reading Electability Politics and the Dwindling Democratic Diversity
Maybe Let’s Leave “I Don’t Care” to the Fascists, Yeah?
Beginning as early as 2009, a series of memes began circulating on social media that were intended to demonstrate in comical ways the lack of interest or care someone felt on a particular day or about a particular issue. Colloquially, they’re the “Look at all the fucks I give” memes, with the unmistakable implication that … Continue reading Maybe Let’s Leave “I Don’t Care” to the Fascists, Yeah?
Nazi “Science” and Jewish “Genius”
In March 1966, rhetoric and communication scholar Haig A. Bosmajian published an article in ETC.: A Review of General Semantics called, “The Magic Word in Nazi Persuasion.” In the article, Bosmajian wrote about how Adolf Hitler and other prominent Nazis realized very early on that, while they needed terror, violence, and intimidation to gain and … Continue reading Nazi “Science” and Jewish “Genius”
“Everything in Moderation” Doesn’t Prevent Extremism
“Everything in moderation” (or EIM, for short) is a hegemonic commonplace in 21st century American culture. That means, it is a belief that is so commonly accepted as to be nearly unquestionable. And it’s a serious problem for supporters of democracy in the 21st century. The reasons for the phrase’s popularity are easy to see. … Continue reading “Everything in Moderation” Doesn’t Prevent Extremism
Burke’s Unending Conversation in the Social Media Age
Imagine that you enter a conversation thread. When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion, a discussion too heated for them to even notice that you’re there, but it’s okay because it’s all archived. You listen for a while, like/heart a few things, and click through to … Continue reading Burke’s Unending Conversation in the Social Media Age
On Debates and Disappointments
Every season on American Idol, one of the heavy favorites goes home way too early. Chris Daughtry, for example, was sent packing even though he was apparently far more popular than the three contestants who survived him (including the winner, and subsequent flop, Taylor Hicks). So shocking have the departures been that the show instituted … Continue reading On Debates and Disappointments
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