| Author: | Gregory E. Haley | ISBN: | 9781476093901 |
| Publisher: | Gregory E. Haley | Publication: | September 4, 2012 |
| Imprint: | Smashwords Edition | Language: | English |
| Author: | Gregory E. Haley |
| ISBN: | 9781476093901 |
| Publisher: | Gregory E. Haley |
| Publication: | September 4, 2012 |
| Imprint: | Smashwords Edition |
| Language: | English |
Today's Republican Party has changed dramatically from what it was just two decades ago. The once great party of moderate statesmen like Ronald Reagan and Dwight D. Eisenhower has now become the party of radical ideologues like Sarah Palin and Paul Ryan. How did the far right-wing take over one of the two major American political parties? How does that radical leadership maintain its electoral advantage and convince millions of otherwise well-educated, critically thinking voters to support positions that ignore basic scientific fact and research?
The Republican Cult of Ignorance examines this historic change in the Republican Party and provides examples of the common rhetorical fallacies employed by conservative politicians and the right-wing media to support policies and positions that ignore basic scientific evidence and verifiable facts.
Today, in the age of instant communication and rapidly advancing technology, it would greatly benefit human development if we could begin thinking critically when we are threatened by political rhetoric and begin questioning the political motivations based in fear so we don’t have to spend our future resources correcting for mistakes we are making today. That’s why this book is organized around a set of rhetorical tools for identifying the fallacies used by politicians and their followers and for short-circuiting typical fear-based rhetoric while improving your ability to engage in more effective debate with those who peddle ignorance in the place of reason, science, and facts.
We Americans are generally reasonable and logical when given the skills and opportunity to reflect on ourselves and our world, but when we are motivated by fear and frustration, our bodies resort physiologically to the fear response mechanism. Things like discourse, logic, and reason become naturally suppressed unless conscious, self-aware leaders stand up to it publicly, call it out by name, and take principled stands against it. Time and again in the 20th century, leaders like Ghandi, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela have proven that reasoned, principled stands against the rhetoric of fear and ignorance can change entire cultures for the better.
The Republican Cult of Ignorance offers both analysis of the current, dysfunctional political climate in Washington as well as solutions to solving some of our most pressing political problems. The evidence that such a cult exists within the Republican Party is outlined in detail, and the tools for combating that ignorance are provided as well. The Republican Cult of Ignorance offers rhetorical judo for your conservative friends so we can begin to rebuild our nation and reach consensus on how to make America great once again at the dawn of the 21st Century.
Today's Republican Party has changed dramatically from what it was just two decades ago. The once great party of moderate statesmen like Ronald Reagan and Dwight D. Eisenhower has now become the party of radical ideologues like Sarah Palin and Paul Ryan. How did the far right-wing take over one of the two major American political parties? How does that radical leadership maintain its electoral advantage and convince millions of otherwise well-educated, critically thinking voters to support positions that ignore basic scientific fact and research?
The Republican Cult of Ignorance examines this historic change in the Republican Party and provides examples of the common rhetorical fallacies employed by conservative politicians and the right-wing media to support policies and positions that ignore basic scientific evidence and verifiable facts.
Today, in the age of instant communication and rapidly advancing technology, it would greatly benefit human development if we could begin thinking critically when we are threatened by political rhetoric and begin questioning the political motivations based in fear so we don’t have to spend our future resources correcting for mistakes we are making today. That’s why this book is organized around a set of rhetorical tools for identifying the fallacies used by politicians and their followers and for short-circuiting typical fear-based rhetoric while improving your ability to engage in more effective debate with those who peddle ignorance in the place of reason, science, and facts.
We Americans are generally reasonable and logical when given the skills and opportunity to reflect on ourselves and our world, but when we are motivated by fear and frustration, our bodies resort physiologically to the fear response mechanism. Things like discourse, logic, and reason become naturally suppressed unless conscious, self-aware leaders stand up to it publicly, call it out by name, and take principled stands against it. Time and again in the 20th century, leaders like Ghandi, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela have proven that reasoned, principled stands against the rhetoric of fear and ignorance can change entire cultures for the better.
The Republican Cult of Ignorance offers both analysis of the current, dysfunctional political climate in Washington as well as solutions to solving some of our most pressing political problems. The evidence that such a cult exists within the Republican Party is outlined in detail, and the tools for combating that ignorance are provided as well. The Republican Cult of Ignorance offers rhetorical judo for your conservative friends so we can begin to rebuild our nation and reach consensus on how to make America great once again at the dawn of the 21st Century.
