Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The Arizona Tragedy and the Politics of Blood Libel - WSJ.com
Basically, rhetoric is the art of using language, especially in public speaking, as a means to persuade; meaningless language with an exaggerated style intended to impress.
Most of us recognize rhetoric for what it is, and most of us do NOT overreact...
Most of us recognize rhetoric for what it is, and most of us do NOT overreact...
Glenn Harlan Reynolds writes about it in the Wall Street Journal and asks:
"Those who try to connect Sarah Palin and other political figures with whom they disagree to the shootings in Arizona use attacks on 'rhetoric' and a 'climate of hate' to obscure their own dishonesty in trying to imply responsibility where none exists. But the dishonesty remains.
To be clear, if you're using this event to criticize the 'rhetoric' of Mrs. Palin or others with whom you disagree, then you're either: (a) asserting a connection between the 'rhetoric' and the shooting, which based on evidence to date would be what we call a vicious lie; or (b) you're not, in which case you're just seizing on a tragedy to try to score unrelated political points, which is contemptible. Which is it?"
