It's a now-normal 21st-century anxiety, but it wasn't always like this. Perhaps it was my wide-eyed, dangerously-sincere reading of Don DeLillo's novel Mao II as a high school senior that did me in, but I've always harbored an uneasy fascination with cult of personality figures. Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, even Steve Jobs, Jon Gruden, Elon Musk. It's a … Continue reading Greed Is Not Good
Tag: donaldtrump
Aristotle, Political Platforms and the “Good”
Today was a tremendously difficult day for me. I'm still in a state of utter disbelief. I in no way want to be dismissive of anyone's opinions in this post, but I'd like to comment on our new president-elect's reliance on "uneducated" voters this election season. I don't wish to equate intelligence directly with a college … Continue reading Aristotle, Political Platforms and the “Good”
Fulcrum Words
In rhetoric, we recognize and pay particular attention to what are called "fulcrum words," an analytical term for words, phrases and broader topics that an argument's direction "hinges" on. Fulcrum words and how they're employed rhetorically by agents and actors in a given conversation turn the tides of onlooking opinion; fulcrum words shift the balance … Continue reading Fulcrum Words
Jacob Richter 