When a political leader persuades through the use of appealing to emotions and prejudices rather than reasoning, or speaks critically, and appeals to those who are followers, they have set themselves up a foundation for demagoguery. Throughout history, our country has seen a long list of demagogues, such as Hitler and Joseph McCarthy. It is obvious why such an issue should matter to us. Both were politically leaders who carved themselves a huge hole in history as the villain. The latest demagogue and modern day Hitler is running to be our next president, and he goes by the name of Donald J. Trump. This goes to show that demagoguery is everywhere and has been in many influential parts of our history. And if you are able to spot the characteristics
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Snyder, in his letters to the Redskins Nation (2013) addresses controversy on the team’s name and argues that the name isn’t offensive and should not be changed. Through the use of demagoguery, he supports his claim by explaining why the name is not offensive, then by persuading the audience that the name is an honor, and finally by announcing his recent contributions to the Native American community. Snyder’s purpose is to convince the audience the name is not offensive in order to keep the team’s name what it is. He adopts a concerned and caring tone for his audience, the Redskins Nation. On another note, Professor Patricia Roberts-Miller defines Demagoguery as “a political strategy for obtaining and gaining political power by appealing to the popular prejudices, emotions, fears, and expectations of the public” (Roberts-Miller 459-76). This paper will show the demagoguery and touch on fallacies throughout Snyder’s letters with help from Robert-Miller’s book “Democracy, Demagoguery, And Critical Rhetoric” …show more content…
It is defined as “a misstep in reasoning.” A type of fallacy that was portrayed in Snyder’s letters is stacking the deck. Robert-Miller’s states, “this involves favoring evidence that suits your claim, and ignoring evidence that does not support it” (459-76). An example of Snyder’s use of this in his letters is when he constantly gives quotes from Native Americans who are prominent leaders such as chiefs and chairmen. He goes on to say, “‘There are Native Americans everywhere that 100% support the name,’ Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians Chairwoman Mary L. Resvaloso told me when I came to visit her tribe. ‘I believe God has turned this around for something good’” (1). This is an example of this fallacy because he quotes only the positive things said by Native American royalty and makes certain to not include any negative. I am almost certain that are many chiefs and chairmen that had words for him that he did not want to hear. This would cause the audience to agree with him and be easily persuaded because they aren’t being exposed to both sides. Roberts-Millers states, “The Scott Foresman Handbook for Writers defines fallacies as ‘shoddy imitations of well-reasoned arguments,’ going on to say, ‘Most fallacies are flashy shortcuts that look good at first but turn out to be based on dubious assumptions and careless generalizations’” (459-76). She talks about how fallacies like this can be
Snyder, in his letters to the Redskins Nation (2013) addresses controversy on the team’s name and argues that the name isn’t offensive and should not be changed. Through the use of demagoguery, he supports his claim by explaining why the name is not offensive, then by persuading the audience that the name is an honor, and finally by announcing his recent contributions to the Native American community. Snyder’s purpose is to convince the audience the name is not offensive in order to keep the team’s name what it is. He adopts a concerned and caring tone for his audience, the Redskins Nation. On another note, Professor Patricia Roberts-Miller defines Demagoguery as “a political strategy for obtaining and gaining political power by appealing to the popular prejudices, emotions, fears, and expectations of the public” (Roberts-Miller 459-76). This paper will show the demagoguery and touch on fallacies throughout Snyder’s letters with help from Robert-Miller’s book “Democracy, Demagoguery, And Critical Rhetoric” …show more content…
It is defined as “a misstep in reasoning.” A type of fallacy that was portrayed in Snyder’s letters is stacking the deck. Robert-Miller’s states, “this involves favoring evidence that suits your claim, and ignoring evidence that does not support it” (459-76). An example of Snyder’s use of this in his letters is when he constantly gives quotes from Native Americans who are prominent leaders such as chiefs and chairmen. He goes on to say, “‘There are Native Americans everywhere that 100% support the name,’ Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians Chairwoman Mary L. Resvaloso told me when I came to visit her tribe. ‘I believe God has turned this around for something good’” (1). This is an example of this fallacy because he quotes only the positive things said by Native American royalty and makes certain to not include any negative. I am almost certain that are many chiefs and chairmen that had words for him that he did not want to hear. This would cause the audience to agree with him and be easily persuaded because they aren’t being exposed to both sides. Roberts-Millers states, “The Scott Foresman Handbook for Writers defines fallacies as ‘shoddy imitations of well-reasoned arguments,’ going on to say, ‘Most fallacies are flashy shortcuts that look good at first but turn out to be based on dubious assumptions and careless generalizations’” (459-76). She talks about how fallacies like this can be