Tense Present Democracy, English, And The Wars Over Usage

Wallace distinguishes the “Democratic Spirit” in the writing of Bryan A. Garner, author of A Dictionary of Modern American Usage (ADMAU). Wallace identifies a “Democratic Sprit,” as one that “combines rigor and humility, i.e, passionate conviction plus a sedulous respect for the

was that he tries to define democracy but uses to different forms of the word

Summary: In Chapter 1, Hudson addresses the distorted views of democracy from modern-day Americans. He explains how separation of power within the government lessens the power of American citizens and ultimately alters the ideology behind a true democracy into what we have today.

The history of mankind reflects that without the clear rights of people being written down to reference back to, destruction would incur (An Old Whig V, 1787). An Old Whig V additionally added, for example, if the nation were to come across future leaders who allow the replacement of officers just so they could side with them there is not a statement refusing the government otherwise (An Old Whig V, 1787). Without the inclusion of a Bill of Rights to clarify the boundaries of which government must not cross then oppression would be the road we are calling unto our future (An Old Whig, 1787).It is essential for future generations to express their “liberty of conscience, freedom of speech and writing and publishing their thoughts on public matters, a trial by jury, holding themselves, their houses and papers free from seizures and search upon general suspicion or general warrants” through the security of ratifying the Bill of Rights (An Old Whig V,

In “We’re a Democracy” by Eugene Volokh, he shows that there is a fine line between being a

Referring in a detailed and specific way to a relevant aspect of US political institutions, personnel or processes, illustrate how US democracy can be considered elitist.

Ethos helps to establish author’s credibility or character, which Wallace reveals by presenting considerable amounts of research on the facts about lobsters, such as their nervous system and scientific references. He writes in an effective manner which makes it comprehensible for readers. Wallace first establishes ethos by saying, “Your assigned correspondent saw it all” (Wallace, 1456). This provides readers that all the information he gains about the festival is through personal experience and that he was assigned to report this year Maine Lobster Festival and mentions the people who accompanied him as well. By given the information above, he is gaining trust as an author from the reader and making the reader believe his report being trustworthy. This is an effective way of persuading the readers because they need to know all this information is from a good source. Once again he exhibits ethos by stating specific details about the well-known Maine Lobster Festival. He mentions, “The enormous, pungent, and extremely well marketed Maine Lobster Festival is held every late July in the state’s mid-coast region, meaning the western side of Penobscot Bay...” (Wallace, 1455).

Ethos: Appeal based on the reputation and character of the speaker. The source's credibility, the

He uses such diction as “allegorical” and “hagiographer,” as well as providing the definitions or backgrounds of certain terms along the borders of the text. Using such words and providing their definitions gives the reader a sense of feeling that what they are reading is important. This helps make his argument effective because the reader will acknowledge the authors good sense of vocabulary and that alone will show he is even more credible. The author uses this as an appeal to ethos because he is gaining credibility from his use of diction.

Aside from these awards, he has authored twenty-three books and textbooks, a number of which are seen as seminal books of modern political thinking (Hertzberg, 2002). Apart from these distinct products on the political science field, Dahl has earned the esteem of his peers. Fred I. Greenstein of Princeton described Dahl as “the premier democratic theorist of our time,” James S. Fishkin of the University of Texas called Dahl "the premier analyst of democratic theory and democratic institutions writing today,” and Theodore J. Lowi of Cornell stressed that Dahl is the “foremost political theorist of this generation” (Hertzberg, 2002). From these impressive honors and esteemed praises, Dahl is argued as someone who knows his expertise. If Dahl thinks that something is wrong with the Constitution, his ethos gives him validity and credibility.

“It is a shift in the practice of democracy from hostility to civility, from advocacy to engagement, from confrontation to conversation, from debate to dialogue, and from separation to community.” (p. 4)

At first glance, CoreCivic strictly adheres to an ideology of acceptance and second chances, and the discourse of their Code of Conduct strongly reflects that. However, on deeper analysis, certain anomalies present themselves, and CoreCivic’s apparent ideals begin to shift. Luckily, many of these irregularities can be easily pointed out by applying Orwell’s criteria for bad writing from “Politics and the English Language”, such as misuse or overuse of idioms and vague use of language. While CoreCivic’s statements paint a remarkably friendly picture, context paints another.

George Orwell states that, “our civilization is decadent and our language…must inevitably share in the general collapse” (Orwell 2000, 1), when he argues for prescriptivism (though toned down from what was taught and accepted in his day). While Garner posits that, “describers, meanwhile, remind us that linguistic change is a fact of life – and conclude that it’s therefore not worth opposing” (Garner, Making Peace in the Language Wars 2008, 272). When David Foster Wallace discusses descriptivism, he makes a historical reference to, “Philip Gove’s now classic introduction to Webster’s Third [which] outlines this type of Descriptivism’s five basic edicts: ‘1 – Language changes constantly; 2 – change is normal; 3 – spoken language is the language; 4 – correctness rests upon usage; 5 – All usage is relative.’” (Wallace 2005, 83). Wallace himself argues against most of these edicts, proving himself to uphold his snootitude. Bryan A. Garner creates a list similar to that of Gove’s, while addressing the argument that “learning grammar may seem like an exercise in pedantry,” which is a point argued by many descriptivists:

Combs, James E., and Dan D. Nimmo. The Comedy of Democracy. The United States of America: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996. Google books.com. Web. 30 May 2014.

one essential conviction, expressed in the word democracy itself: that power should be in the hands of the people. Although democracy today has been slightly inefficient in this idea, with the wealthy, elite class challenging this right, “it nevertheless claims for itself a fundamental validity that no other kind of society shares….” To completely understand the structure of democracy, one must return to the roots of the practice itself, and examine the origins in ancient Greece, the expansion in the Roman Empire, and how these practices combined make what we recognize as today’s democratic government.