Aristotle defined rhetoric as using all the available means of persuasion. Although not every speech is designed to persuade, let's examine the rhetorical devices of a persuasive speech that has played a foundational role in our American experience: Patrick Henry's “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death." He spoke to [...]
The exercise of authority, whether in business, politics, or at home, is a difficult task, at least for those who wish to exercise it for the benefit of others and not merely for self-aggrandizement and the raw use of power. People in authority are in positions of service no less [...]
Today, I begin a series of lessons on parenting. Drawing on my own experiences as a parent, my experiences with others in my ministerial career, and my readings from various experts. In particular, several of the topics I've chosen come from an article in First Things, October 2016, “Don't Ask [...]
Perhaps you've been encouraged to take advantage of your time because of hearing the mantra, “This moment is everything.” Maybe you have been captured by the Latin phrase, “Carpe Diem,” (seize the day), made famous by one of the worst movies ever produced. On the good side, each of these [...]
A Father Counsels His Sons How to Use Rhetoric in Family Life Part II DEFINING POLICY AND TERMS Another area of the use of rhetoric is what the Roman orator Cicero called discussions about policy or the deliberative discussion. One domestic policy in our house concerned cleaning your rooms. Your [...]
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. His novel tells the story of a good doctor who was transformed into the mysterious and evil Mr. Hyde by ingesting a strange potion. Little did Stevenson know that his novel would spawn a name descriptive of [...]
During my years as a minister, I often did premarital counseling. I liked it because I believe in strong marriages, and one good way to build them is to counsel young couples about what makes a marriage work. I spent a lot of time on communication: how to get your [...]
Among the many ancient masters of rhetoric in the Roman orator, Marcus Tullius Cicero. He was a lawyer and statesman during the days when Rome transitioned from a republic of laws to a dictatorship under the Caesars. He lived from 106 to 43 BC, and wrote extensively on rhetoric, philosophy, [...]
A number of years ago, while working in my garage, I accidentally splashed a chemical in my eyes. My eyes weren't seriously damaged, and in the emergency room a nurse washed my eyes out. Nothing serious happened from it; unless you realize what an opportunity I was given. Once the [...]
When I taught one of my writing classes, the students were required to write an argument paper. However, many of them could not differentiate between an argument and an assertion or statement. An article in Salvo Magazine demonstrated that even some textbooks can't tell the difference (here). An assertion is [...]
