Danger of Rhetoric to a Term Paper

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This, then, is what takes us to the argument that false rhetoric is the greatest danger to democratic rule.

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.


Plato's argument against rhetoric is not all encompassing. 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......

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https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/danger-rhetoric-35195