I've here in mind the fist-pumping variety of politically vocal people, those certain that one side is leading us to another dark ages and the other to a totalitarian state. It appears that for some "left and right" thinking is characterized by black and white thinking. Nuance is lost. And with this loss, so too…
The Political Orator and the Future. 6.2.b. Children.
Preparing for the future must begin, as always, with our children. Ronald Wilson Regan, State of the Union [USA] 1987, 27 January 1987. Children have little to no political voice. They can neither vote nor hold public office. But think of the children appeals add a good deal of emotional oomph! -- what Aristotle calls…
The Political Orator and the Future. 6.2.a. The Poor.
If you haven't read 6.1, I recommend you do so before reading 6.2.. 6.2. has turned into quite a lengthy project. So, I've broken it down into 6.2.a. The Poor, 6.2.b. Children, and 6.2.c. Future Generations. Subsequent posts in this series are 6.3. Attainability of Ends, 6.4. Warnings, 6.4. Solidarity, and 6.5. Character (Ethos). Recall…
Aristotle and Pam on The Political Orator. Series. 6.1. Intro.
"The political orator aims at establishing the expediency* or the harmfulness of a proposed course of action; if he urges its acceptance, he does so on the grounds it will do good; if he urges its rejection, he does so on the grounds that it will do harm; and all other points, such as whether…
Just a Thought. 18.
If you have a spare ten to fifteen minutes, I have a suggestion. Read George Orwell's Politics and the English Language (1946) https://wisc.pb.unizin.org/english100coursereader/chapter/politics-and-the-english-language/ (Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin, Open Texts) Orwell's essay is still relevant and I am confident you'll think your time well-spent. Introduction to Orwell's essay provided at the above link, U…
Oh, come on — let’s give the blather about “tribalism” and “ideologies” a little kick in the knees.
I'll be getting back to this topic, but here I take a quick kick at what I'll call "ideology-talk." Whatever it is that some people think ideology is, it seems they think it something that keeps us apart. You know, I'm in one camp, you're in the other. So let's push on that notion a…
