Exquisitely happy to have learned the names of half-brained, unordered, substance-less arguments in my first week in Rhetoric class. To think the very things that have been bothering me for many weeks were named this week thanks to my class and along with a name, the possibility of a resolution. Here I thought I was the only person I know worried about the lack of intelligence in conversations and building arguments on half-truths.
Rhetoric began in Aristotle's time and is old old and so wise and healthy. Rhetoric is actually a process of intelligent dialogue. The process includes inclusiveness--the belief that every citizen has an obligation to bring their voice to the community discussion table; Good Rhetoric is agreement there will always be disagreements in life, we just need to learn to engage in them and find a way to come to consensus or agreement. Good rhetoric means good listening; good dialoguing and finding a way over the differences. Good Rhetoric means you want to solve problems and issues which are blocking progress. Good rhetoric is good.
Bad Rhetoric is Jerry Springer; former Crossfire show; any 2 or more person engagement where differences of opinion exist and people are yelling over the top of each other. With the deep political divide in our country...could this be more timely? Bad Rhetoric is devaluing the opinions of others or trying to reduce others through this devaluation.
My favorite piece was if you accept the principles of Good Rhetoric you are also accepting that a person's opinion does not the person make. My opinion is not who I am, its my opinion. I love that.
Plus the Prof is grand. Smart, opinionated, witty and fearless. I think a Republican student walked out of our good Sarah Palin bashing (just an example folks, but a good .... example).
In other developments 370 lit is an absolute hoot. The things we learn through BB (big brother) teleconferencing. I prefer a real instructor any time, but we are all getting along fine it would seem with the weird videoing. The Prof says, can you do a close up on this story here...so he draws pictures of middle english for us on paper and explains what thorns and other things are. The other part I am loving is that the class is a coveted one and I have a seat for it. I tried to get out of it, thinking I had already had this stuff, which I have, but the experience is priceless. Give me a Prof. with humor any day. Last class of the day, I leave school each day carefree and not wanting to go home.
Another highlight today was getting my toes painted turquoise.I just want to live in a turquoise world, thank you!
I am hoping, shall we say at 940 Friday, for a carefree weekend...ttfn
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