As social creatures, humans tend to communicate with each other a lot whether we like it or not. Speaking is an essential medium for getting points across, sharing ideas and simply enjoying ourselves. However, there's a skill to communicating when it comes to speaking in a certain way to get what you want out of the conversation, whether it be to motivate people in some way or to convince them of your point. This art is called rhetoric, which I'm sure you've heard of before because it is election season and everyone loves to use the word "rhetoric" during this time of year.
Sometimes it's better just to hide away during election season...
The reason people talk about it so much and the reason that it's brought up so much at this time is because everybody uses it. Whether they are doing so with intent or not, people always want to get something out of a conversation: comfort, a favor, permission to use the credit card to buy a dinosaur suit because they're awesome, etc. So, when people start talking on a national stage, the message that they're getting across and how they do it becomes immensely important.
However, the way they play on words and knowing how people will react to them also makes this immensely dangerous -- especially when they know what they're doing. It's a powerful tool to be able to get a reaction out of people by playing off of their intense emotions such as fear, anger and/or skepticism. There are those who can manipulate them and twist logic to make their audience more violent and irrational; to divide and hurt the audience in favor of themselves; to make their voice stronger by making others seem weak or illogical; to set the world aflame and watch it burn as they sit in their golden throne.
*cough* *cough*
During the time of the Ancient Greeks, there was a man named Socrates who was known for being a teacher and persuasive speaker. In a play called "The Clouds" by Aristophanes, Socrates was accused of being able to convince people that the wrong, unrighteous speech is the correct, moral speech. During the play Socrates teaches a young man to use these skills because the boy's father wants to get out of debts. By the end, the son was talented enough in rhetoric to convince himself that physically beating his father was righteous. The father at one point was even convinced by Socrates that the gods did not exist, which was a big no-no back in the day and part of the actual charges that landed Socrates on trial in real life.
Due to this disregard for unspoken laws and the supposed wickedness of the school, the father is told by a god to burn the school down, driving Socrates and his students away. You see, during that time Socrates and other sophists, as teachers of rhetoric were called, were seen as immoral because they could bend words to bend what seemed to be truth. Plus, it was possible that Socrates may have taught rhetoric to a traitor and enemy of Athens, named Alcibiades. So they feared and hated rhetoric, for Socrates had shown them its power.
"I know you are, but what am I?!" - The line that was so good it brought people to tears.
I tell you this story because, although in actuality it was a comedy, Aristophanes' "The Clouds" speaks to the power that rhetoric has over people. Knowing what points to hit, how to hit them and hitting them with the correct audience are what helps people control others and shape their actions. There are many well-intentioned people who are driven toward hate and being irrational because somebody's words struck a nerve. It's a tactic used to convince people, which isn't entirely bad until it's used to serve a negative, possibly destructive purpose.
I implore you, reader: do your own research, question words you hear and and make an active effort to keep an open mind always, but especially during election season. A closed mind and lack of understanding are what create persistent problems with no reasonable foundation in a modern society that's supposed to be progressing instead of being dragged down by issues and outdated values introduced generations ago. So please, have a civilized conversation instead of a shouting match with people you don't agree with and try to understand where they are coming from. Listen to them, don't just hear them. By understanding each other, we may be able to prevent our own Alcibiades, who would simply like to make America hate again.
