Hedge's Use Of Artifice In Politics

Politicians are the most persuasive people in the world. During an election, the most successful politicians are those who use Aristotle’s three appeals (Logos, Pathos, and Ethos) effectively. By not only establishing themselves with voters, but also appealing to voters’ emotional side and using evidence to support the effectiveness of their political platform. As a politician persuades voters, an author must similarly persuade their audience. For an author to persuade an audience, the author must use the three appeals effectively; in which, when observing the works of Nicholas Carr, Alexis Madrigal, and Rev. Billy Graham respectively, it is shown that all three authors use one of the appeals effectively.

The best politicians out there, are often not the ones that have the best ideas, but rather the ones that can trick and then steal the hearts of their audiences. The people of the world will often support and vote for the candidate with the story that impacts them the most. The stories the candidates say may often not be true, this is what Hedges’ meant when he said that “the most essential skill…. Is artifice.”

Einstein believed that we are the reason why that the world is a dangerous place to live; not because of our actions, but through our inaction. Thus, people who in charge or in the position to help, often do nothing, maybe because they are too afraid of taking action or don't care. However, our

In Cross’s opinion, she believes people are bamboozled by propaganda because they fail to recognize when they experience it (248). The thirteen propaganda methods Cross describes in this essay include the following: Name-Calling, Glittering Generalities, Plain-Folks Appeal, Arguementum Ad Populum (Stroking),

As a society we are guided by false veneers and deceit. Artifice is unfortunately a prominent tactic used in hope of gaining the respect of the public. Politicians and celebrities who we look up to utilize artifice on a daily basis to gain our recognition and approval. Even teenagers are being taught how to use artifice to their advantage. Chris Hedges believes that the use of artifice is a necessary device to achieve success. In his book, The Empire of Illusion, he discusses the appeal of artifice and how individuals become “unreal” and “ignored” if they do not utilize it. His viewpoint is immensely untrue because this “strategy” causes a never-ending cycle of conflict. If we continue to feign our true appearances, we will become unable to fix societal issues we face to today.

The recent election of 2016 shows that artifice is essential in winning voters. Donald Trump, throughout his campaign, displayed an image of himself that people would perceive as “tough” and “strong”. The image of Trump as a reality TV star made him more likable by Americans. Trump spoke openly to people's economic stress, cultural fears and the disillusion with politicians. He promised to “bring

One successful strategy applied in political propaganda is “plain folks”. This strategy appeals to regular citizens in different ways, whether making the politician seem down-to-earth, homely, or simply relatable. One example of this is when candidates always seem to be rolling up their sleeves, wearing jeans, drinking beer, or doing some other “ordinary” activity. This gives politicians a more approachable and empathetic vibe, and is helpful in relating voters to the candidate, hence giving them a desire to vote. Another example of this is shown in Document C, through Stevenson’s song “I Love the Guv”. The lyric “I’d rather have a man with a hole in his shoe than a hole in everything he says” is a powerful example of this type of strategy, as it is making Stevenson just seem like another normal citizen. Although this strategy is extremely effective and quite ethical, it may be, at times, less than informative.

Mahatma Gandhi once stated, “Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as cooperation with good.”

When attempting to present a certain perspective to an audience, the speaker must not merely string a list of monotonous and meaningless words together and call it a speech. Rhetoric, also known as persuasive elocution, has the power to captivate an audience and is essential to any effective oration. In his 2008 Republican Convention speech, actor Fred Thompson lends his support to John McCain’s presidential campaign in order to convince American voters to do the same. Appealing to his audience’s patriotism and sense of responsibility while also discrediting the possibility of a successful Democratic nominee, Thompson delivers a memorable presentation laced with passion, light-hearted humor, and, most especially, hope for a better future lead

J. Patrick Dobel, in Public Integrity, argues that political prudence provides a basic ethical resource for public officials. Prudence means to see ahead and the ability to think clearly before one acts. An individual needs to think about the short and long-term consequences of their actions. Political prudence is attached to excellent achievement in politics, which consists of outcomes that “gain legitimacy, endure over time, strengthen the political community, unleash minimum unforeseen consequences, require reasonable use of power resources and do not require great violence or coercion to enforce the outcome,” (Dobel p. 199). In addition, a prudent leader needs to be open to experience and knowledge, (Dobel p. 211).

During the 2016 Vice-Presidential election, candidates Tim Kaine and Mike Pence use persuasive language and strategies for their arguments. Notably, both speeches measure about the same in terms of implementing pathos through the repetitive use of their hardships and their families. Pathos is a strategy used to stir up the audience’s emotions. Based on the strategic manipulation of pathos, middle-aged voters may tend to sway towards one candidate more than the other.

The art of deception is an essential skill, especially in moments such as political debates and commercial promotions. In today's society, artifice is a widely utilized skill to persuade the public. The commercial market connects producers to consumers through propaganda which appeals to consumers through elements such as pathos, ethos, and logos. Utilizing these elements, the audience is immediately drawn into the viewpoint of the deceiver. Politicians tried to appear as ordinary and modest as possible to seem more appealing to their audience. But, it can be a deception. As Chris Hedges said in his Empire of Illusion, a story is the best form of artifice because the “consistency and emotional appeal of the story are paramount.” Often politicians tell stories to create a persona making themselves look more trustworthy.

When determining what I should cover for the annotated bibliography, I knew I wanted to cover rhetoric with the political and public affairs arena. The ability to persuade the masses is truly an art itself. Because the political and public affairs arena is so broad, I narrowed my research down to reading and researching about the president’s rhetoric when campaigning, governing the public, and convincing the other branches of government. The power of rhetoric and the effective usage of it play a vital role in winning the elections, building a level of trust with the public, engaging in good public policies, and delivering on promises. It results from the candidate’s ability to know what to say, how to say it, when to say it, where to say it, and understanding the political environment of the time.

To some speakers and writers, propaganda is an evil instrument. The negative approaches make a part of the world think that propagandists hoodwink the population, use half-truths, lie, conceal and distort facts. Although there are many pessimistic perspectives, there are others who have a positive view and think especially of techniques, slogans, catchwords and other devices. They prefer effective language, the rhetoric way, to persuade the audience (Pan, 2012).

The good that can be achieved must outweigh deaths and destruction incurred. (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences Online 2008)