Poetry Prose Articles Blog
The urge to write comes from deep within, from that place of thusness, otherwise known in the vernacular as the zone. It is the desire to create as much as it is the desire to communicate or inquire; it is an artistic motivation as much as a cognitive or curiosity-based motivation. For the rhetor, there are things that just need to be said; but so it goes for the poet as well and indeed the teacher and the student. Maybe a an examination of the source of motivation itself would come closer to defining this so-called “urge” as anything else we could examine. But that is the beauty of it after all. The writer can most cleverly put to use the tools of logic and deduction, emotion and empathy, standing and credibility to make her point. On the other hand, she can make it up as she goes along, thus only drawing the reader in more and more by the minute, by the word, by the potential that is being unveiled by the narrative, which hasn’t the first bit of truth, logic, or reality, but is delicious all the same, much like a cold slice of cheesecake after a much too spicy, but all the same irresistible and delicious Thai meal under red lanterns in the still humidity of August. And while the reader may or may not be satisfied with the actualization of the narrative as it unfolds, the writer can’t help but be, as she has come once again a bit closer to satisfying that inner itch that just won’t go away......The full moon is settling in my backyard. It is full and big and hanging too low. It doesn’t belong. Everything else about the sky is dark and black, unknowing. Except this moon, low with its deep rich yellow glow. It’s the emptiness of a spare bedroom in an old house in which I’ve never been. It’s a rock and roll song blasting from the back of my high school Pontiac, and the cold that creeps through the doors, keeping me alive. It’s the phone call I never expected, the lie I never told, a memory I forgot. It’s the flat tire on my way home, when I really needed to be home. This moon takes up my whole yard and leaks through the windows.
It sees all, knows too much. It’s impartial and harsh, shining down on the just and unjust. It doesn’t discriminate or designate. It never feels pain nor sympathizes with heartache. Still, I know that after a while it will withdraw and go back to where moons go, and cease to exist for a season....Friday night’s trip was miserable. The rain came down in one continuous bucket-pour drenching the road between North Carolina and Northern Virginia, making it nearly impassable and adding at least an hour to the trip. Sleep at the Holiday Inn Express came quick, was welcome and deep. We caught the Metro at its southernmost location in Alexandria. Even though it was a Saturday, I didn’t want to risk negotiating crowds and getting turned around in downtown DC. The Metro is easy by comparison, and an all-day pass for two was just a little over $7.00.We disembarked the train at the Farragut West station, a couple of blocks away from the initial gathering. I could feel the power in the air. This was not your usual passive resistance social action. This damn war has been brewing for a long time, too long. A protest of this size, the largest since the Iraqi invasion, has been a long time coming. Of course there were your typical socialists and union proselytizers passing out propaganda. But this was truly a gathering of America. There were young people and grandparents. There were old hippies and old soldiers. There were people concerned with religious morality, and those opposed to any and all government action. There were black Muslims and young white middle class soccer parents. And, even though they only had a couple of hundred to show up, there were counter-protesters—the pro-war faction opposed to the opposition. What I expect now, as this thing grows, is for the War Pigs to start disparaging all of us who oppose this thing. But that’s not going to be as easy now as it was early on when they had a lot of support from a brain-dead, media-fed collective. No more. Despite the media’s reluctance to report on the dissatisfaction and dissent, the people have caught on. And that was no more apparent than at this march. As I said this was not just a collection of left wing misfits. This was a good random sample of America. I even saw Santa Claus. There were a lot of kids, from buggy-bound toddlers to teenagers. And thank God for them. Young people add energy, and it was overflowing here. A.N.S.W.E.R. organized a boat-load of speakers, many of them straying a bit from the message. And honestly it got to be a bit much after a while. Most of them were good enough and stayed focused, but the crowd eventually got restless. However, I have to hand it to Mahdi Bray, the Executive Director of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation. He gave a rousing speech who reminded us that the Government should answer to the people, not the people to the government. Additionally he asked how a leader who calls himself Christian could defy the example and advice of the Christ, a questions many of us have been pondering for some time. Bray was electrifying. I would love to have a transcript of that speech. He stated that, “if love peace and justice are wrong, then I don’t want to be right.” Bray ended it with a direct hit on America’s wrong-headed obsession with Immigration, “God didn’t make any illegals.” The idea for this march was for the Iraqi War Veterans in attendance to lead. A group of a dozen or more took the stage shortly beforehand to speak their peace. Unfortunately I couldn’t hear much of what was being said as a young college student to my right was going on and on about dialectical materialism and applying for grad school at Berkley. I had to remind myself of why we were there and remember the Buddha’s advice to accept things as they are. Anyway at that point it was time to move on out of the park and prepare for the march. I was able to hear the speeches the next day on C-Span. Adam Kokesh, a leader with Iraq Veterans Against the War, made what I think was the best point of the whole day: “Today people stop fearing the government and the government starts fearing the people.” I don’t know if we will be able to live this out. But if we don’t we are at the dead end of American civilization.......The Impression Management Rhetorical Model is based on Impression Management Theory, a theory of interpersonal communication. Utilizing a theory of interpersonal communication for rhetorical criticism yields a unique vehicle for examining various forms of political communication. The Impression Management Rhetorical Model examines the strategies of impression management theory as they areused to form rhetorical images. These images are presented and manipulated to reach identification with, and thereby persuade, the target. Since the model assumes persuasion through identification, examples of communication are examined to see which strategies are used to form the rhetorical images presented. By being identified with the speaker, the target becomes "substantially one," or "consubstantial," with the speaker. This, according to Burke, is when persuasion takes place. Identifying the self-presentation strategies used to form the rhetorical images provides greater insight into the phenomenon of persuasion by identification. By applying a theory of interpersonal interaction to various forms of communication, the Impression Management Rhetorical Model focuses on the functional, rather than the contextual, nature of communication.... Impression Management is a Symbolic Interactionist theory. The nature of the Symbolic Interactionist's approach to human behavior lies in the idea that people interpretor define each other's actions instead of merely reacting. According to this view, individuals learn to play roles in society and take on the identities related to these roles. Such social experiences lead people to label themselves, others, and social situations. These labels and definitions are important because of the resultant identification. Identification is central to a Symbolic Interactionist approach to rhetoric. The Symbolic Interactionist perspective has been introduced to the field of rhetoric through the writings of Kenneth Burke, who stresses persuasion through identification. According to Burke (1969), mankind is unique and as such is separate, distinct, and divided. Since mankind is therefore divided, identification is necessary....Back in the day I was a salesman, a traveling salesman. I went to work for the Linsing Company in Jacksonville right after the war. At first they put me in the office, mainly phone work, processing the mail orders and overseeing a small staff. But I couldn’t take it. I literally felt caged in. And I’m just not good relating to people. I know, you’re wondering how it is that I wanted to go into sales if I wasn’t good at relating to people. Well there is a big difference between selling to people, whom you only see once or....Logos as logic is the operation of right thinking, of reasoning, making judgments. Logos as word is the material of syllogism and the symbols of communication. Basic logic is first and foremost an operation of the mind. It is what St. Thomas calls the application of first principles to reason. Thomas postulates a natural logic as a priori, our inborn ability to reason. First principles are what we might call common sense. Reason is part and parcel a human attribute. It is the thing that distinguishes us from other animals. Natural logic is a function of our higher selves. From these inborn abilities to reason we proceed to abstraction and on to formal logic. Outwardly expressed, this usually takes the form of syllogism, which uses words as the method of expression and understanding. But logic does not always utilize words. And the use of words for expression, communication, is not always logical. Hence, the critical thinker should have a firm understanding of logic, and the power of words
The urge to write comes from deep within, from that place of thusness, otherwise known in the vernacular as the zone. It is the desire to create as much as it is the desire to communicate or inquire; it is an artistic motivation as much as a cognitive or curiosity-based motivation. For the rhetor, there are things that just need to be said; but so it goes for the poet as well and indeed the teacher and the student. Maybe a an examination of the source of motivation itself would come closer to defining this so-called “urge” as anything else we could examine. But that is the beauty of it after all. The writer can most cleverly put to use the tools of logic and deduction, emotion and empathy, standing and credibility to make her point. On the other hand, she can make it up as she goes along, thus only drawing the reader in more and more by the minute, by the word, by the potential that is being unveiled by the narrative, which hasn’t the first bit of truth, logic, or reality, but is delicious all the same, much like a cold slice of cheesecake after a much too spicy, but all the same irresistible and delicious Thai meal under red lanterns in the still humidity of August. And while the reader may or may not be satisfied with the actualization of the narrative as it unfolds, the writer can’t help but be, as she has come once again a bit closer to satisfying that inner itch that just won’t go away......The full moon is settling in my backyard. It is full and big and hanging too low. It doesn’t belong. Everything else about the sky is dark and black, unknowing. Except this moon, low with its deep rich yellow glow. It’s the emptiness of a spare bedroom in an old house in which I’ve never been. It’s a rock and roll song blasting from the back of my high school Pontiac, and the cold that creeps through the doors, keeping me alive. It’s the phone call I never expected, the lie I never told, a memory I forgot. It’s the flat tire on my way home, when I really needed to be home. This moon takes up my whole yard and leaks through the windows.
It sees all, knows too much. It’s impartial and harsh, shining down on the just and unjust. It doesn’t discriminate or designate. It never feels pain nor sympathizes with heartache. Still, I know that after a while it will withdraw and go back to where moons go, and cease to exist for a season....Friday night’s trip was miserable. The rain came down in one continuous bucket-pour drenching the road between North Carolina and Northern Virginia, making it nearly impassable and adding at least an hour to the trip. Sleep at the Holiday Inn Express came quick, was welcome and deep. We caught the Metro at its southernmost location in Alexandria. Even though it was a Saturday, I didn’t want to risk negotiating crowds and getting turned around in downtown DC. The Metro is easy by comparison, and an all-day pass for two was just a little over $7.00.We disembarked the train at the Farragut West station, a couple of blocks away from the initial gathering. I could feel the power in the air. This was not your usual passive resistance social action. This damn war has been brewing for a long time, too long. A protest of this size, the largest since the Iraqi invasion, has been a long time coming. Of course there were your typical socialists and union proselytizers passing out propaganda. But this was truly a gathering of America. There were young people and grandparents. There were old hippies and old soldiers. There were people concerned with religious morality, and those opposed to any and all government action. There were black Muslims and young white middle class soccer parents. And, even though they only had a couple of hundred to show up, there were counter-protesters—the pro-war faction opposed to the opposition. What I expect now, as this thing grows, is for the War Pigs to start disparaging all of us who oppose this thing. But that’s not going to be as easy now as it was early on when they had a lot of support from a brain-dead, media-fed collective. No more. Despite the media’s reluctance to report on the dissatisfaction and dissent, the people have caught on. And that was no more apparent than at this march. As I said this was not just a collection of left wing misfits. This was a good random sample of America. I even saw Santa Claus. There were a lot of kids, from buggy-bound toddlers to teenagers. And thank God for them. Young people add energy, and it was overflowing here. A.N.S.W.E.R. organized a boat-load of speakers, many of them straying a bit from the message. And honestly it got to be a bit much after a while. Most of them were good enough and stayed focused, but the crowd eventually got restless. However, I have to hand it to Mahdi Bray, the Executive Director of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation. He gave a rousing speech who reminded us that the Government should answer to the people, not the people to the government. Additionally he asked how a leader who calls himself Christian could defy the example and advice of the Christ, a questions many of us have been pondering for some time. Bray was electrifying. I would love to have a transcript of that speech. He stated that, “if love peace and justice are wrong, then I don’t want to be right.” Bray ended it with a direct hit on America’s wrong-headed obsession with Immigration, “God didn’t make any illegals.” The idea for this march was for the Iraqi War Veterans in attendance to lead. A group of a dozen or more took the stage shortly beforehand to speak their peace. Unfortunately I couldn’t hear much of what was being said as a young college student to my right was going on and on about dialectical materialism and applying for grad school at Berkley. I had to remind myself of why we were there and remember the Buddha’s advice to accept things as they are. Anyway at that point it was time to move on out of the park and prepare for the march. I was able to hear the speeches the next day on C-Span. Adam Kokesh, a leader with Iraq Veterans Against the War, made what I think was the best point of the whole day: “Today people stop fearing the government and the government starts fearing the people.” I don’t know if we will be able to live this out. But if we don’t we are at the dead end of American civilization.......The Impression Management Rhetorical Model is based on Impression Management Theory, a theory of interpersonal communication. Utilizing a theory of interpersonal communication for rhetorical criticism yields a unique vehicle for examining various forms of political communication. The Impression Management Rhetorical Model examines the strategies of impression management theory as they areused to form rhetorical images. These images are presented and manipulated to reach identification with, and thereby persuade, the target. Since the model assumes persuasion through identification, examples of communication are examined to see which strategies are used to form the rhetorical images presented. By being identified with the speaker, the target becomes "substantially one," or "consubstantial," with the speaker. This, according to Burke, is when persuasion takes place. Identifying the self-presentation strategies used to form the rhetorical images provides greater insight into the phenomenon of persuasion by identification. By applying a theory of interpersonal interaction to various forms of communication, the Impression Management Rhetorical Model focuses on the functional, rather than the contextual, nature of communication.... Impression Management is a Symbolic Interactionist theory. The nature of the Symbolic Interactionist's approach to human behavior lies in the idea that people interpretor define each other's actions instead of merely reacting. According to this view, individuals learn to play roles in society and take on the identities related to these roles. Such social experiences lead people to label themselves, others, and social situations. These labels and definitions are important because of the resultant identification. Identification is central to a Symbolic Interactionist approach to rhetoric. The Symbolic Interactionist perspective has been introduced to the field of rhetoric through the writings of Kenneth Burke, who stresses persuasion through identification. According to Burke (1969), mankind is unique and as such is separate, distinct, and divided. Since mankind is therefore divided, identification is necessary....Back in the day I was a salesman, a traveling salesman. I went to work for the Linsing Company in Jacksonville right after the war. At first they put me in the office, mainly phone work, processing the mail orders and overseeing a small staff. But I couldn’t take it. I literally felt caged in. And I’m just not good relating to people. I know, you’re wondering how it is that I wanted to go into sales if I wasn’t good at relating to people. Well there is a big difference between selling to people, whom you only see once or....Logos as logic is the operation of right thinking, of reasoning, making judgments. Logos as word is the material of syllogism and the symbols of communication. Basic logic is first and foremost an operation of the mind. It is what St. Thomas calls the application of first principles to reason. Thomas postulates a natural logic as a priori, our inborn ability to reason. First principles are what we might call common sense. Reason is part and parcel a human attribute. It is the thing that distinguishes us from other animals. Natural logic is a function of our higher selves. From these inborn abilities to reason we proceed to abstraction and on to formal logic. Outwardly expressed, this usually takes the form of syllogism, which uses words as the method of expression and understanding. But logic does not always utilize words. And the use of words for expression, communication, is not always logical. Hence, the critical thinker should have a firm understanding of logic, and the power of words
