meh

DISCLAIMER:WARNING:DANGER

So as you guys already know I've taken a somewhat different approach to this assignment. When i began i found myself just doing a vague analysis, plucking out figures of speech I found, and modes of persuasion to do a "what the teacher wants" paper. Perhaps i would of been better off doing that, it certainty would of been easier, but i wasn't enjoying it. So instead, our professor inspired me to avoid writing a paper about politics, something i hate, and find something that intrigues me so that i might enjoy writing this paper. Our conversation was helpful and inspiring  I tried to analyze the rhetoric of why we hate politics so much, and it was tricky, very. It was essentially doing the opposite of what we have been doing. Perhaps by going down this road i've given myself a much more challenging topic and the subpar quality of my paper reflects this. It was hard not to state the obvious reasons why we all hate politics,  and remember i needed to look at it through a rhetorical lens. It reads more like a rough draft. It lacks those juicy rhetorical words and arguments that aristotle speaks so fondly of. I settled on this topic only a few days before the due date, and it would of been nice to see what other people thought about this, specifically the comments in class today were inspiring.  Anyways, enjoy, and i'm interested to see what you guys think about this, what am i missing, and why you hate politics. 

Rhetoric Of Hate

Americans are losing interest in politics—Turnout in U.S. national elections ranks an extraordinary 138th among 170 countries that hold elections. Why has a nation founded on the pillars of democracy taken such disinterest in politics? Politicians are riddled with negative adjectives; whereas not too long ago, politics carried with it positive connotations. They do everything they can to appeal to the majority of people, but they must be doing something wrong if poll numbers are down and interest is declining. Some of us in this class have expressed a particular disinterest in politics. This can’t be a coincidence; there must be several underlying problems to our opinions. What is it about Romney or Barack that makes us grit out teeth and curse under our breath?

Politicians use too much rhetoric. They haven’t realized that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Most Americans don’t know this as the reason why they have become unattached from politics. Politicians use ethos to appeal as an authoritative figure; unfortunately these attempts can do more damage then good. Aristotle writes how anger results from belittlement. Angry Americans direct their emotion towards those who insult them or what they value. These insults are the reasoning behind the anger.

Politicians use rhetoric in every attempt to win our vote. Americans are beginning to see through this emphasis on manipulation—we are tired of being told what to do and how to do it. This disillusionment has opened the flood gates to criticism. Politicians address the American people like sheep; and they are the all mighty shepherd to guide us through danger and adversity. They speak to the American public as if there is little hope unless we elect them; they make promises to make it all better. By utilizing protope, a call to action by using threat or promises, politicians hope to scare us into voting for them.

In an ad campaign against Obama, Romney shows a comparison of several of Obamas speeches in 2008 and 2012. The video shows short clips from different years in Obamas speeches side by side. He surprisingly uses—if not identical, similar phrases, in his promises to the American people throughout his 2008 and 2012 campaign.   Parallelism in his public speech’s reveal his incompetence, and makes the audience wonder, if elected, will Obama just do what he’s been doing?  Many of us have come to recognize this repetition and it has forced us to categorize politics into this mundane game of broken promises and deception.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5VMX2JahrU&feature=player_embedded

 Politicians are always promising us something, only to find out their promise isn’t even feasible. Mitt Romney’s tax cuts for example, gave many Americans hope; Lower income tax, no estate tax and elimination of taxes on investment income for low and middle income taxpayers. Unfortunately after he announced this, they crunched the numbers, and the numbers didn’t add up. Here is a presidential candidate making promises to us that he can’t keep. This seems to be a reoccurring pattern in politics. In the 2008 election, Obama promised to lower health care premiums for those who already had a plan, which have increased 9% since then. Obama hasn’t kept his promise to protect social security for future generations.  As voters we put a lot of faith in our politics, but deception and broken promises have forced us to reconsider.

Single member candidates inevitably create a two party system. The lack of variety in candidates leads to many people who decide their isn’t anyone that represents their views in office. A majority of people end up voting for the candidate who “mostly” agrees with their opinion. Since 1920 congress has frozen the number of representatives at 435, regardless of the fact that population has increased dramatically since then. This disregard to support a growing population so that we have equal representation supports our growing disinterest in politics. As each member now represents hundreds of thousands people, voters feel lost at sea when it comes to influencing their representatives. More Americans are feeling under-represented in politics.

Candidates take a healthy serving of logos and spread it all over their campaign.. The reason many of us hate politics so much is that their logic, in our eyes, is flawed. Romney is trying to win the vote of the common American people, but his statements that 47% of Americans don’t pay income tax and who believe they are victims, makes people really question his true intentions in office; insomuch that voters wonder why Romney wouldn’t avoid such a blatantly offensive statement to the lower and middle class. Granted Romney didn’t say this to a public audience, at least he thought so, we can’t help but wonder what else he is saying behind closed doors that he doesn’t want us to hear. Two weeks later after this statement was leaked, Romney states that he was, “just completely wrong.” This constant shift of opinion plagues the candidates with these irrefutable sleazy characteristics politicians are known for.

 In the recent presidential debate, voters saw their president Barack Obama, the man in charge of the United States of America, fall to a very convincing Romney. Obama’s submissive body language, downward gazes, and lack of eye contact cast doubt into the viewer’s mind, “So this guy actually runs out country?” As voters we need to see how our president will hold up against adversity and Obamas pedestal of ethos he’s been building crumbled before the audience’s eyes. People make decisions emotionally, based on their perspective of the issue. And their perspective drew them a clear picture that the man who has been running our country doesn’t deserve another chance.

Many of us don’t believe the government is acting is favor of the common people, because of this, they don’t believe in participating in the institution they oppose. With approval ratings for the President below 50% and for Congress below 25% we see a grim future for politics in the United States. What we expect from politics is dependent on the assumptions we project on politicians. We hope that they meet, or at least try to meet these assumptions, but we are usually let down. Unfortunately many of them aren’t considered to be selfless representatives of those who elected them. They are increasingly seen to be powerless and ineffective beyond their control.

Politicians have a very specific way they address certain crowds. In a speech to stadium packed full of college students Obama thanks the audience for “hanging out with him on a Friday night.” While his use of ethos would tickle a rhetorician pink, it makes my roll my eyes back. You know that guy? That one guy? The guy who tries to be friends with everyone. We all hate him, and maybe we’ve been him. My point is when someone tries too hard to fit in, they usually and make a fool of themselves.

If our country is going to continue to operate as a functional and progressive democracy our politics need a facelift. Genuine passion and interest in the American people shouldn’t have to be layered with rhetoric and mind games. Politicians need to take a step back from rhetoric and elucidate their true intentions, without all the fluff.