Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Rhetoric essay

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is an ancient art that is latent in the essence of humanity. Since its creation is still consist in the same elements. However society had changed over the course of time and the use of rhetoric is used widely, even when people ignored its presence. There a few professions that are immersed in this practice, such as the politicians, the ministers, lawyers among others. Right now the art of the oral speech is necessary in all the areas of specialization. It is of great importance to express ourselves in an effective way. We can be judged through our oral skills at any given time, such as in a work interview. Rhetoric is a vital part of our presence in front of everybody else, at the time that we defend our though and believes.

There are people that own the art of rhetoric. Good politicians are the ones that do it best. In order to be selected in an election, a candidate must gave and extraordinary oral speech. This speech should appeal to the logistic of the actual situation of the country or town and why it should change or not. Also is very important to make sure that the ethical and emotional appeals are present too. We can take as an example the economical situation in our country, including the taxes in the food and essential articles for any person. The real problem is that the prices are expensive and the government does not increase the salary of their employees and in some cases the salaries are cut. This case presents an ethical issue and appeals to the emotional and rational side of every person. Every government should protects their citizens interest and not pursue their own profit. Now, that we are in time of elections some of the candidates from the opposite party will focus their speeches on the economical and social situation that the people are living right now. They will appeal to the human and sensible part of the affected people, proposing better job conditions, salary increments, and a decrease in the taxes. For the other part we have the incumbent candidate that defends himself and his government arguing that the problem is the legislature. Only one will win and that will be the one with the best rhetoric.

Nowadays, in politics, a good discourse is better than the actions that certain individual can perform. Like Maquiavelo says “a good politician is the one that says what his or her citizens want to hear, and makes everything that they expected to do”. It is sad that some people use rhetoric to lie and to act against their own people. The man kind is in part vulnerable and sometimes can be used and oppressed by the big and powerful entities of their country. Under the influence of a good rhetorician people can be persuade very easily, and sometimes forget the real and factual conditions that can be detrimental to their status.

The art of rhetoric is not only a practice for politicians. Religious ministers mastered the oratory. Their best example is how Jesus Christ through his speeches owned the heart of thousand of the people in his journeys. Also the apostles had control over the art of the word. Their legacy is PLASMADA for the eternity in the Bible. Jesus and His apostles owned the heart of the people, through the logos, pathos, and ethos. He predicates that love was the epicenter for the existence of the universe. God creates the humanity with love and he gave His son for our sins. He teaches us that everybody should be treated equally and with respect.

The professions that are directly related to law have rhetoric as a central piece. Every lawyer has to own the oral speeches in order to be successful in any case. Previously preparation is required and strictly necessary. A legal representative can be immersed within readings, several weeks and even months, organizing a case. Every aspect should be studied, analyzed, and compared with similar trials. The last mentioned, is of great importance, because previously litigations can set the basis for the resolution of a legal action. In addition to the required preparation, a lawyer should meditate and should be able to react fast to any question. I consider that the liberty or innocence of a defended rest in the hands of the legal representative. There are thons of innocent people that are in jail and be they did not had the opportunity to had someone competent working for them. In the other part there are guilty people that are free, merely for the presence of a good lawyer, and I am not taking in consideration any fraud or corruption. I was reading the headline of a newspaper and I was surprised. The news was about a woman that gave a false a testimony and a man was send to jail. I can infer that maybe that declaration was decisive in that jury, and the judges were affected emotionally at that time.

Rhetoric does not consist in defending a point, it takes more than that. It should appeal the emotion, rationality, and ethically. I think that “phatos” is the appeal that encloses more meaning. We can feel related and identified with any situation that other person can live. If an individual is excluded from a civil right, we tend to understand the severity of the condition. Is rational and ethical, that we all have the same rights and we should be treated equally, but it is the emotional aspect that affects us the most. The real goal is to convince the audience that the idea that you are defending is how you say it, and not in the other way. The best thing that schools can do is to teach rhetoric since the early years on the student life, it can be of great benefit for the professional and personal areas of a student. We should be dedicated to the development of our oral skills.

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