(Originally posted Oct. 24, 2020) Somewhere around the second century CE, the Roman satirist Juvenal coined the phrase ‘bread and circuses’ which has come to mean placating one’s populace with cheap bribes to distract them from their political grievances. Here’s… Read More ›
Social and Political Commentary
Saturday Morning Pam-toons. Of the Right to be Right or Wrong. (With updated article, C2C Journal.)
Update : A comprehensive article on the Frances Widdowson case and the state of academic freedom in Canada, generally: Peter Shawn Taylor, “Academic Freedom vs. Wokeism: The Frances Widdowson Affair“, C2C Journal, February 2, 2022, accessed 7 February 2022. (Thank… Read More ›
What, if anything, is wrong with MSNBC, CNN, and FOX? (Part 1 of 2)
My other half habitually surfs through a number of national and international news channels in the evenings. Our house is small, so I’m captive to whatever noise emanates from these rotating broadcasts. Sometimes this noise really gets under my skin…. Read More ›
Some Problems with Complaisance.
If something doesn’t bother me, e.g. the F-word, why should I be bothered that it bothers you? Let’s start with friendship. As Aristotle notes, “[Friends are] those with whom we are on such terms that, while we respect their opinions,… Read More ›
A meditation on the character of a political speaker and, by extension, a voter (Oct. 31/20 with Nov. 15/20 addendum)
Loosely put, rhetoric is the art of persuasion. More specifically, on Aristotle’s definition, rhetoric is “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.” We all use rhetoric to convince others of some thing or other,… Read More ›
Understanding Political Rhetoric and How It Works With Our Mental states to Persuade or Disuade
Rhetoric is, broadly put, the art of persuasion. Whether we’re aware of it or not, we’re all persuaded by rhetorical tactics and use them ourselves to persuade others. Some people find this notion unconscionable, as if there is some cognitive… Read More ›
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