The Deal About Rhetoric

Rhetoric is important. Rhetoric is powerful. Sometimes, rhetoric is everything.

Consider a country in chaos. Consider people struggling to get by, suffering under brutal legislation, starving in the streets. Consider that they want release, be it through wealth, health, or death.

A man promises them an end to their struggles. He promises them power, wealth, most importantly, an ear to listen, and a fist to punish.

And they bring a demagogue into power.

I'm talking about the United States, but maybe you were confused for a moment. Maybe you thought I was talking about Nazi Germany; that's okay, that's happening more and more these days.

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How does rhetoric work?

It's difficult to say. It seems like you have to be a victim of rhetoric, of getting pulled in the wrong direction, to tell. Then snapping out of it. But some of those Nazis, the true-believers, they still believe even today.

This is how rhetoric works: you appeal to your emotions, specifically anger. You rely on that to the point that you blind yourself to facts. And when you no longer base your actions on facts, your leaders can get you to act out and do anything.

Anything.

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Here's a post from "It should be legal to kill Democrats":

Got paid today. Lost 30% of my paycheck to taxes for entitlement programs that I don't use and never will; this includes Social Security. I'm sick of you asshats telling me how to spend the money I earn. I worked my ass off but some lazy Democrat gets 30% of my god damn paycheck and then has the nerve to complain.

I  

I don't have the heart to tell the guy his taxes are really going to the richest 10% of the country, not entitlement programs. And it's only going to get worse.

He uses his anger to blind himself to facts, creates his own reality and scapegoats, and is probably willing to murder to get back that 30%.

I wouldn't blame him for wanting to murder, that's food off his table. But Democrats aren't even in power; who do you think is really to blame?

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Rhetoric is how Republicans fire up their voter base. They use the imagery of violence and death at their doorstep to get them to vote against their own interests. It's them, versus the violent and cruel world.

But look: they use impending violence, and they manage to translate that into votes. That's democracy, quite frankly.

How do we fight this?

Educate them.

Calm them down.

Join together.

Get votes.

Even if you're a Democrat, you have to recognize that we need each other, now more than ever. Break the spell of rhetoric and propaganda. Don't let the other side demonize your fellow brother.

They're big and powerful. They're rich and invincible. But they thought so in France 1788.

Violence is not the ideal answer here; in fact, it shouldn't be on the table. Foreign powers would love to have us retreat into a bloody civil war. So we have to fight with the few democratic tools we have left.

Each other.

So don't spit bile about Republicans; don't wish you could kill a Democrat. We're not going to agree on everything, but there's one obvious thing to agree on: the shit has hit the fan.

It doesn't matter who, why or when. It's our job to clean up the mess.

-Matt