Land of the Free, But Was It Meant to Be?
I couldn't think of a title more emotionally appealing than "Attack Solidarity". What other aspect of American society is so fundamental and core to what makes us unique as a country? Freedom of opportunity and making sure everybody receives equal treatment are values that we all cherish as Americans. However, Chomsky's rhetorical strategies once again prevail in making us wonder if these things truly exist in our nation.
Chomsky uses very specific language to create an image of people who are above you and control the things you do. For example, in the very second sentence of this chapter he states, "From the point of view of the masters, you're only supposed to care about yourself, not about other people". Specifically referring to the people who create policies and legislatures in our nation as "masters" depicts them as people who view American citizens as servants or slaves simply turning the cogs for our American system. He also continues to expand on this feeling of separation or isolation from the people above by making claims that elite want to push forth this idea that you should only care about yourself. In the same paragraph, he claims that the elite declare that, "You've got to be for yourself and follow the vile maxim -'don't care about others'- which is okay for the rich and powerful, but devastating for everyone else". At this point, Chomsky does a good job on beginning with the usage of pathos as a rhetorical strategy by creating this feeling of inferiority, powerlessness, and a feeling of indifference coming from the elite. To establish an "us vs. them" mentality, Chomsky uses the 1st person pronoun "we" throughout the whole chapter. This is yet another solid usage of pathos to help him build his message.
The thing with Chomsky is that not only does he effectively appeal to how you feel, he stacks this up by adding actual, legitimate evidence. And the thing with this chapter is that he used a piece of evidence that appeals to each and every one of us, public education. This is far from the first time I've heard of rising tuition prices and massive amounts of debt affecting your average student. But, this is the first time I've heard it used as evidence in this context. Attack Solidarity. To suggest that college is expensive because the government wants us to split apart and pick up the vile maxim mentality is really quite shocking. Something so dear and core to the success of an individual is now crazy expensive for your average American. The interesting thing I've noticed about paying for college though, is that it truly affects the middle class. For people who are really at the middle, not rich but not poor, are in the toughest spot. They aren't poor enough to receive financial aid, but aren't rich enough to fully pay off college. And unfortunately, the middle class makes up the largest portion of America. So if we were to look at this in the light of Chomsky's point, "Attack Solidarity", then the government sure is doing a good job.
No only does he use private education as an example, he uses Medicare, Social Security, and unemployment as solid examples. So basically, Chomsky exhibits strong persuasive skills by beginning his chapter with a strong emotional appeal and stacking up loads of evidence to create an appeal to logos. These claims truly do build on his main claim that there is this clash between the powerful and everybody else. Of course, you can use evidence and craft it however you want to devise your own message but the fact of the matter is that we are struggling with medicare, public education costs, and unemployment. Chomsky uses relevant American obstacles to help send his message on top of his strong usage of rhetorical strategies.
Chomsky uses very specific language to create an image of people who are above you and control the things you do. For example, in the very second sentence of this chapter he states, "From the point of view of the masters, you're only supposed to care about yourself, not about other people". Specifically referring to the people who create policies and legislatures in our nation as "masters" depicts them as people who view American citizens as servants or slaves simply turning the cogs for our American system. He also continues to expand on this feeling of separation or isolation from the people above by making claims that elite want to push forth this idea that you should only care about yourself. In the same paragraph, he claims that the elite declare that, "You've got to be for yourself and follow the vile maxim -'don't care about others'- which is okay for the rich and powerful, but devastating for everyone else". At this point, Chomsky does a good job on beginning with the usage of pathos as a rhetorical strategy by creating this feeling of inferiority, powerlessness, and a feeling of indifference coming from the elite. To establish an "us vs. them" mentality, Chomsky uses the 1st person pronoun "we" throughout the whole chapter. This is yet another solid usage of pathos to help him build his message.
The thing with Chomsky is that not only does he effectively appeal to how you feel, he stacks this up by adding actual, legitimate evidence. And the thing with this chapter is that he used a piece of evidence that appeals to each and every one of us, public education. This is far from the first time I've heard of rising tuition prices and massive amounts of debt affecting your average student. But, this is the first time I've heard it used as evidence in this context. Attack Solidarity. To suggest that college is expensive because the government wants us to split apart and pick up the vile maxim mentality is really quite shocking. Something so dear and core to the success of an individual is now crazy expensive for your average American. The interesting thing I've noticed about paying for college though, is that it truly affects the middle class. For people who are really at the middle, not rich but not poor, are in the toughest spot. They aren't poor enough to receive financial aid, but aren't rich enough to fully pay off college. And unfortunately, the middle class makes up the largest portion of America. So if we were to look at this in the light of Chomsky's point, "Attack Solidarity", then the government sure is doing a good job.
No only does he use private education as an example, he uses Medicare, Social Security, and unemployment as solid examples. So basically, Chomsky exhibits strong persuasive skills by beginning his chapter with a strong emotional appeal and stacking up loads of evidence to create an appeal to logos. These claims truly do build on his main claim that there is this clash between the powerful and everybody else. Of course, you can use evidence and craft it however you want to devise your own message but the fact of the matter is that we are struggling with medicare, public education costs, and unemployment. Chomsky uses relevant American obstacles to help send his message on top of his strong usage of rhetorical strategies.
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