Inquiry Blog Post 7: Blog Reflection

After getting used to the blog and setting the design to display a few things about me I started to adjust to the blog.  The blog helped me get my inquiry project organized and helped me see where I am at not only in the inquiry project process but as a writer.  Unfortunately I wasn't using my blog to its full potential which includes giving comments to my classmates and receiving few comments on my blog about my topic of inquiry.

Inquiry Blog Post 6: Inquiry Project Final Draft

Michael Rodriguez

Professor Kendra Andrews

English 1102-065

12 December 2012     

It seems that many political figures make controversial issues seem so simple and ‘peachy.’ Whether it is about war, economic, environmental, sociocultural, or equal rights issues, politicians somehow tend to make these issues sound like they are not as complicated as they really are. How do politicians use language and rhetorical devices to convince the public into thinking these issues are a cinch? Politicians do use unique language and word choice in the political atmosphere, but do they use language to avoid or lie about these controversial issues or do they use specific rhetorical devices and manipulate language to shape controversial issues into simple ones? Politicians do not use language to avoid or lie but rather use linguistic manipulation and certain rhetorical devices to make issues less complicated and in their speeches to the public in order to influence them into believing the same ideas or to gain their vote. 

            In modern times; economic, war, and sociocultural issues are of major concern in politics.  After an economic collapse, Washington has scrambled to try and get the economy back to the state it was in prior to the recession by trying to pass bills to increase taxes on the wealthy, limiting government spending, and enacting laws in order to create more jobs. Now, the government is worried about another shut-down in early 2013 because of the increasing budget deficit. The economic collapse started during the presidency of George W. Bush but he was more concerned about the war in Iraq than fixing the economy. President Bush was a main contributor to the war on terrorism and in the Middle East until Obama came to office. The issue on the War in The Middle East is slowly dissipating as we continue to pull troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan. A few months ago, an American facility in Libya was attacked and multiple high-ranking officials were killed. The public is still left in the dark with almost no evidence about what really happened in Benghazi and multiple politicians are reporting the wrong facts. Sociocultural issues include abortion, education, and most recently, the Central Intelligence Agency scandal. 

            Alan Finlayson refers to Michael Freeden’s theory of political ideologies. That is politicians change their ideologies or beliefs accordingly to the major issues that are apparent at the time being (Finlayson, 764). A great example of this is how political ideologies in the early 2000s were concerned with the fight against terrorism after the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon and then once the economy collapsed in the mid-2000s, major issues in government revolved around fixing the damaged economy. This changes not only the ideologies that politicians carry but also the language that they use when addressing the public on new issues.

            Much of the general public feel that they have been lied to when a politician, especially a presidential candidate, promises that they will enact governmental policy change and it never happens. Once a newly appointed president reaches Washington, they “often discover that the problems they face are more difficult than they expected” (Olsen, Ouyang, Poe, Trantham, and Waterman, 1404). Presidents find it hard to get congress to cooperate with them and make policy changes. While campaigning, candidates tend to have an ideology that opposes the ideology of certain individuals or groups in congress and then in turn, these individuals or groups oppose cooperation and the proposals given by the new president. President Obama also found that congress disagreed with the policies that he introduced. “He campaigned on a platform of sweeping policy change, as well as a promise that he would bring the nation together” (Olsen, Ouyang, Poe, Trantham, and Waterman, 1405). Just before his inauguration speech in 2009, he expected congress to help make quick changes in government. Obama did not lie when he promised change; he was just unable to get the right policies approved in Washington.

            I feel that in politics, linguistic manipulation plays an important role in how politicians make controversial issues less complicated. Linguistic manipulation is defined by Gunta Rozina and Indra Karapetjana as “the conscious use of language in a devious way to control the others” (113). Politics has dominated the media and can get their message out to millions of people so easily. This is used to persuade people into making specific political decisions, especially voting decisions.  Language in the political atmosphere has two specific powers according to Rozina.  These are influential and instrumental powers that politicians have.  “Influential power inclines people to behave in certain ways or makes people adopt opinions/attitudes without exerting obvious force on them” (Rozina and Karapetjana, 113).  This power can be seen used in the media like the State of the Union Address, advertising especially during presidential campaigning, and in cultural spheres.  Instrumental powers are given by law to the government to make and enforce laws, create taxes to provide funding for government programs such as welfare, and provide a bureaucratic system (Rozina and Karapetjana, 113).

            Rozina also explains the specific rhetorical devices that are used in political linguistic manipulation.  These devices include metaphors, metonymies, and a very specific type of allusion called phraseological allusions.  Rozina describes only these three rhetorical devices as the most important devices used in politics but there are many more used in politics.  A metaphor compares one thing as if it were something else, without using ‘like’ or ‘as’.  This is a very simple rhetorical device and is used numerous times. George W. Bush uses a metaphor in his second inaugural speech “And as hope kindles hope, millions more will find it. By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well—a fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those who fight its progress, and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world” (Bush, 2005). George W. Bush uses the word ‘fire’ to represent the fight against terrorism and explains that others that feel the same way about terrorists are influenced by our fight against it and join in our battle to spread peace.

Metonymy is a rhetorical device that makes an association between two different concepts or ideas and enables the audience to see the ‘big picture’ and reason behind the speaker’s decisions or ideas (Rozina and Karapetjana, 117).  The last device that Rozina discusses is phraseological allusions.  “According to the Latvian linguist Nacisione, ‘phraseological allusion is an implicit mental reference to the image of a phraseological unit which is represented in discourse by one or more explicit image-bearing components hinting at the image’” (Rozina and Karapetjana, 115). Phraseological allusions present images that grabs the audience attention, “creates figurative language”, and uses “the image to appeal to the imagination” (Rozina and Karapetjana, 115). An example of a phraseological allusion is present in The Baltic Times where they use a set of explicit photographs that relate to the War in Iraq (Rozina and Karapetjana, 115). These photos attempted to give evidence that weapons of mass destruction were accessible to the Iraqi military and tried to scare the world into imagining what would happen if they used those weapons.

            The use of rhetorical devices and linguistic manipulation is apparent in politics. In order to make controversial issues less complex, politicians use a certain language or rhetoric to do so. This specific political rhetoric implicates the use of specific rhetorical devices such as metonymies and phraseological allusions as well as the manipulation of language in order to present issues as simple in order to ease the public’s concerns. The evidence found in multiple articles points to the fact that politicians not only use certain linguistic techniques to simplify issues but to get there ideas across, influence the public into believing the same ideas as they do, and persuade “people to take political actions or . . . to support a party or an individual” (Rozina and Karapetjana, 115).

Works Cited

Olson, Jeremiah, Yu Ouyang, John Poe, Austin Trantham, and Richard Waterman. “The

Teleprompter Presidency: Comparing Obama’s Campaign and Governing Rhetoric.” Social Science Quarterly 93.5 (2012): 1402-423. Blackwell Publishing, 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2012.

Rozina, Gunta, and Indra Karapetjara. “The Use of Language in Political Rhetoric: Linguistic

Manipulation.” (2009): 111-22. May, 2009. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.

Finlayson, Alan. “Rhetoric and the Political Theory of Ideologies.” Political Studies. 60.4

(2012): 751-67. Political Studies Association. Web. 23 Nov. 2012.

                                                                                                                                             

Bush, George W. “Inaugural Address.” (2005). Presented Online by Gerhard Peters and John T.

            Woolley. The American Presidency Project. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.

Inquiry Blog Post 5: Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Olson, Jeremiah, Yu Ouyang, John Poe, Austin Trantham, and Richard Waterman. "The

Teleprompter Presidency: Comparing Obama’s Campaign and Governing Rhetoric." Social Science Quarterly 93.5 (2012): 1402-423. Blackwell Publishing, 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2012.

           

This excerpt taken from taken from Social Science Quarterly evaluates the difference in rhetoric used when a candidate is campaigning for the presidential position and after they take office.  Another source is cited that explains how campaigning has one goal, to win the election.  It goes on to say that candidates promise that certain goals will be met in their term but no proposals of how the goals will be met are explained.  The article goes over multiple examples of different presidential candidates and past presidents that I will be able to implement in my own paper.  The article explains how presidential rhetoric has changed over time and the change of word choice in presidential speeches to appeal to a wider audience.  This article is very relevant to my topic of inquiry and is almost spot on with where I want to go will my argument. 

The King's Speech. Dir. Tom Hooper. By David Seidler. Perf. Colin Firth, Helena Carter, and

Derek Jacobi. Blockbuster. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.blockbuster.com/browse/catalog/movieDetails/482194>.

The King’s Speech is about how before King George VI became king of England; he was put through speech therapy in order to be fully qualified to be king.  This seems to conclude that being a great speech giver isn’t by nature as in you are not born talented at giving speeches.  Prince Albert, played by Colin Firth, suffered from a speech impediment at the age of 5 and evaded any public speeches until he found help from Lionel Logue.  After getting help, King George VI gives a great speech heard across the world.  This movie will be helpful in my paper because it shows the rhetoric used in speeches back in the early 1900s and I can use that to compare to rhetoric used in present times.

Harris, Sandra, Robert Kemmerling, and Max North. "Brief Virtual Reality Therapy for Public

Speaking Anxiety." CyberPsychology & Behavior 5.6 (2002): 543-50. EBSCOhost. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.

This article is a report on how Virtual Reality Therapy (VRT) helped university students

overcome their speech anxiety.  The study was carried out with a group of 16 subjects, 8 were exposed to VRT and 8 were in a control group.  The results showed that after five weeks of therapy, the group exposed to the therapy was able to banish their fear of public speaking.  The article shows multiple tables or charts that show the results of the study.  The study used self-report inventories which seems odd that the subjects reported on the effectiveness of VRT themselves but heart rate was also monitored during the therapy.  According to the results in the tables, there was enough evidence for the people who conducted this study to say that VRT is effective.  I could possibly use this study in my paper if I was to go into how to overcome public speaking anxiety but I don’t know if I will be doing so.  The source seems valid but I am not fully convinced that VRT is as effective as the extent that the author claims it is.

Wong, Jessica. "5 Tips To Improve Your Public Speaking Skills." Web log post. Makeuseof.

N.p., 11 Dec. 2009. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-tips-to-improve-your-public-speaking-skills/>.

This blog article explains five steps to become a better public speaker which includes:

1. Engage your audience 2. Get to know your audience 3. Stay positive 4. Be concise 5. Give your work a captivating title.  The main idea for this blog article is to inform the reader that learning how to become a better speaker is not all that hard.  I feel that this could be useful if I were to argue that speech giving skills are learned through nurture and not nature.  Being that this is a blog, it is not fully credible and probably shouldn’t be used to support my main topic of inquiry. 

Inquiry Blog Post 1: Inquiry Assignment

Inquiry Assignment

            For my topic of inquiry, I would like to venture into the rhetoric used in the political atmosphere.  Politicians seem to use a language and rhetorical devices that are not the norm in society.  They use complex wording not only in their speeches but in the bills they pass in congress.  I choose this topic because I became interested in how politicians word their speeches in order to move the audience and try to convince them into believing their political ideology or beliefs.  I also was watching a very old video on YouTube of Adolf Hitler giving a speech and it made me wonder how did he word his speeches and what rhetorical devices did he use to motivate his audience.  How did he get millions of people to believe in his ideas when his main idea was to conquer over all and become the dominant race in the world?  How could so many assist in the mass genocide of the Jewish race? All of these questions started popping in my head and then I came to one that I wanted to research.  How do politicians use different rhetoric and rhetorical devices in order to motivate the public into believing in them?

            I do not have much experience in political language or in politics as a whole but after doing a little research; I have a good amount of knowledge of how rhetoric is used in politics.  I already know that the language used by politicians and government officials is different from the general public.  They use more complex words and rhetorical devices in order to persuade mass groups of people into either changing their political beliefs or influence them into voting for a specific person or bill.  I need to learn more about the specific rhetorical devices that are used in politics and some example speeches or other items that can back up my argument.  The material I have found so far on the topic has given me an idea of what to look for in these articles.  After reading some of my articles I found I could go into the rhetoric used in campaigning versus governing and even the ideological side of it.  That is how do politicians beliefs influence what rhetorical devices they use when trying to get more votes from the public.  A couple questions that I have are:  How else do politicians used language to influence the public?  What major speeches used ‘heavy’ rhetorical devices to move the audience?  

TIB revised essay

Inquiry Blog Post 3: Research Presentation

Inquiry Blog Post 4: Presentation Reflection

My presentation topic was about effectiveness of speeches and how some people give such great speeches that captivates the audience.  After presenting what topic I have chosen to the class, I still feel a little lost and confused as to where I am going with my paper but maybe it will come to me.  One other classmate suggested that I watch the movie called "The King's Speech" which might help guide me in the right direction.  I don't have a solid argument that I will be focusing on right now, I could possibly argue whether you a born with traits to give good speeches, or maybe argue that anybody can learn to give good speeches if they follow a certain guideline.

*My presentation on the effectiveness of speeches is now irrelevant.  My current topic is rhetoric used in politics.

Inquiry Blog Post 2: Research Tools

5 Unusual Ways to Become a Better Speaker
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/5-unusual-ways-to-become-a-better-speaker.html

Olson, Jeremiah, Yu Ouyang, John Poe, Austin Trantham, and Richard Waterman. "The

Teleprompter Presidency: Comparing Obama’s Campaign and Governing Rhetoric." Social Science Quarterly 93.5 (2012): 1402-423. Blackwell Publishing, 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2012.

The King's Speech. Dir. Tom Hooper. By David Seidler. Perf. Colin Firth, Helena Carter, and

Derek Jacobi. Blockbuster. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.blockbuster.com/browse/catalog/movieDetails/482194>.

Harris, Sandra, Robert Kemmerling, and Max North. "Brief Virtual Reality Therapy for Public

Speaking Anxiety." CyberPsychology & Behavior 5.6 (2002): 543-50. EBSCOhost. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.

Wong, Jessica. "5 Tips To Improve Your Public Speaking Skills." Web log post. Makeuseof.

N.p., 11 Dec. 2009. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-tips-to-improve-your-public-speaking-skills/>.

One belief that I hold:

Don’t Look Back, Look Forward

I believe in looking forward to a new day and better future, not dwelling on the past and letting it effect who I am.  I try not to stress over something that may have happened because there is no possible way to change it.  The only thing to do is leave it all behind and have an open and optimistic view on the future.  This is how I was able to get over a tragic event that occurred in my life.

            My mother passed away due to brain cancer when I was four.  Prior to her death my parents had divorced and I was unable to get to know her since I only visited on the weekends.  I got adjusted to my stepmother and being so young, it was easy to view her as a mother figure.  I never really thought about my own mother because I had never gotten the time to get attached.  Then, while in my high school years, it finally hit me.  My one and only mother had passed away; I never got to know her, and I barely had any lasting memories of her.  Feelings of grief and remorse set in and totally changed who I was.  My entire mindset changed, I became antisocial and stopped my usual activities like soccer and baseball.  I truly felt depressed because I was unaware about just how much she cared for me. 

My mom, knowing that her time was coming, set up a mutual fund for my sister and me.  Its purpose was to cover the costs of our college education.  I realized that she gave me everything she possibly could and the fact that I could never get to know her saddened me.  Then, realizing that thinking about the past was ruining me, I decided that it was no use dwelling on it.  The only thing I could do is say “it is what it is” and move on.  After this I was back to my old self, being more socially active and doing more with my life than sitting around and thinking about something that had happened years ago.  I was back to my old optimistic self.

            Holding this belief has been one of the best things I have ever done.  It has gotten me through many more situations where I started to get concerned about a decision I previously made or an event in my life that troubled me.  I will always hold true to this belief and it will help me with whatever obstacles life throws in my way.  I am looking forward.

Inquiry Topic/Question

Topic of Inquiry:  The use of rhetoric in politics.

Working Inquiry Question:  How do politicians use language and rhetorical devices to convince the public into thinking these issues are a cinch?

This is updated from my old topic of inquiry.

After many weeks of examining articles online about speech giving, presidential speeches, and rhetoric used in presidential speeches I came to this inquiry question.  I found three articles on this topic.  One article compares the rhetoric used by President Obama during his campaign and while in office in a study conducted evaluating his speeches.  Another article explains how politicians use linguistic manipulation and the rhetorical devices that are used in political linguistic manipulation.  The last article introduces the ideological side of how politicians word their speeches, this refers to the main beliefs that are held by most politicians.  

This blog has been created in order to present assignments and discussions for my English 1102 class at UNCC.  I am Michael Rodriguez and am originally from Fredericksburg, Virginia.  Its a small city directly in between Washington D.C. and Richmond.  I moved down to Charlotte into my sisters house in order to get away from my parents and go to UNCC.  So far moving to Charlotte has been a great choice and I wouldn't change anything.  I am very new to blogging, in fact this is my first blogging website that I have ever created.

*I am not a savvy blogger at all, I actually found this blog less effective compared to actually doing face-to-face peer reviews in class.  The blog's is useful to dedicate specific tabs to each individual part of my portfolio. In doing so the blog kept my Inquiry Project organized.