Appeal to the people(direct)/Appeal to fear

   Recently I've noticed a frequent activity in politics--politicians and members of the media using fear or general mob mentality to drum up support for their causes, or to sway the general populace's view on important issues. I don't know if it has always been like this, and I just never knew because I was young and uninvolved, or if this is a recent occurrence. Either way, I find it extremely frustrating and embarrassing to know that so many people are this easily influenced by their emotions rather than their own rational thought.

''There are a lot of universities that are as dangerous with the indoctrination of the children as terrorists are in Iran or North Korea. ... We have been setting up reeducation camps. We call them universities.''

—Glenn Beck, Glenn Beck show on FOX News Channel, Sept. 1, 2010

''When you see the effects of what they're doing to the economy, remember these words: We will survive. No -- we'll do better than survive, we will thrive. As long as these people are not in control. They are taking you to a place to be slaughtered!''

—Glenn Beck, on FOX News, Nov. 3, 2009

''Finally -- well, he wasn't the president. He was the chancellor, Hitler, decided that it was the only empathetic thing to do, is to put this child down and put him out of his suffering. It was the beginning of the T4, which led to genocide everywhere. It was the beginning of it. Empathy leads you to very bad decisions many times.''

—Glenn Beck, on President Obama's statement that he would consider ''empathy'' in choosing a Supreme Court nominee, Fox News' Glenn Beck show, May 26, 2009

     I am not sure what world Glenn Beck lives in where the concept of empathy could be twisted to have a sinister connotation...but let's look at it objectively, no conservative, no liberal connotations, no relations to Hitler, just...the definition.  "Empathy is the capacity to share the sadness or happiness of another sentient being through consciousness rather than physically. Empathy develops the ability to have compassion towards other beings."

     Adolf Hitler is the very LAST person we should ever use in relation to the word "empathy". He killed millions of people because they were different, because he HAD no empathy, or compassion. To vilify compassion and empathy is to vilify the very things that separate us from animals...the capacity to truly care about one another. So...why would Beck say something like this? For the same reason the following people said these things--

''The Girl Scouts allow homosexuals and atheists to join their ranks, and they have become a pro-abortion, feminist training corps. If the Girl Scouts of America can't get back to teaching real character, perhaps it will be time to look for our cookies elsewhere.''

—Hans Zeiger,  candidate for Congress in Washinton state, on the deep moral threat to our country's dainty youth posed by the Girl Scouts of America

''Do you know, where does this phrase 'separation of church and state' come from? It was not in Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptists. ... The exact phrase 'separation of Church and State' came out of Adolph Hitler's mouth, that's where it comes from. So the next time your liberal friends talk about the separation of Church and State ask them why they're Nazis.''

—Glen Urquhart, the Tea Party-backed Republican nominee for the Delaware House seat held by Rep. Mike Castle, April 2010

"The most virulent form of this phenomenon is seen in the South as coalitions of fundamentalist Young Earthers, Evolution Deniers, Climate Change Deniers, Holocaust Deniers, Muslim Haters, Gay Haters, Racists and other fellow travelers have joined into a solid, enthusiastic and reliable voting block for Republican candidates who openly espouse extremely anti-American ideas as they continue to push for a theocratic America."
"I shiver more than a little when I perceive a political shift in favor of a lunatic fringe that wants to see a theocratic America abandon all of its traditional values and submit to religious dogma adhered to by only a few. I fear for my country."
-Both from this site , on the topic of religious/conservative politics

     --To instill fear in their viewers and listeners.Why? Because it works. Imagine you don't know a lot about a candidate, but you are told that he or she is secretly a communist, born in Russia, who plans on tearing our country apart from the inside out. Or you don't know much about a bill, but you keep hearing from your friends that there is a "secret" provision in this bill that allows the government to kill whoever they want, for whatever reason they choose. And if you approve of this bill, the government is going to start funding abortions and teaching children to engage in insane sexual activities and oh my god that's something that HITLER would do and the next thing you know we're going to be living in an Orwellian dictatorship with no control over anything anymore!


     The sad thing is that this SHOULD sound ridiculous, the idea of someone making outlandish claims with no proof whatsoever. But that's exactly what's been happening....there are still people out there who think that the President is a Muslim. Born in Kenya. And I'm sure that on the other side of the fence, there will be people who believe that Christine O'Donnell is really a witch for years to come, because she said some nonsense on a talk show ten years ago. It doesn't matter how many times proof is given to show that these ideas are wrong...they heard it one too many times from the media or their like-minded peers, they felt scared, their patriotism flared up, and they ran with it. Same thing happened with "death panels". With a name like "death panels", how could you NOT be scared?




      "Hate, fear, paranoia, hysteria — the default emotive lexicon of [those who] can't honestly debate the issues."
-from this site


     As I was searching for evidence of fear mongering, I came across this gem, and honestly it upset me more than anything else I've read. Personally, I can typically write off quotes by people who are obviously just trying to stir up fear or instill a sense of hatred of the other, because I think it shows a lack of intelligence and an inability to honestly discuss issues logically and rationally, and why would I care about someone's opinion when they obviously lack that ability? But this was different. This is a writing off of anyone pointing out that this very common fallacy is happening. And it's just so illogical that I had to sit here for a few minutes, trying to think of what to say about it. I think this would be more along the lines of the false cause fallacy? Or maybe it's not so much a typical fallacy as much as it is like approaching a bully, telling them "Hey, you're a bully. Why don't you stop being so angry and mean?" only to have them respond "Oh that's what everyone says when they can't fight back!"

     Well, yeah. Of course that's what people say. Because it's true. Of course people will point out that some people are using fear as a substitute for logic and reason...because they are. And of course we then cannot have an honest debate of the issues, because we have ceased to be reasonable beings. We have begun to rely on stirring up unnecessary emotions, instead of discussing issues like rational people. When you call someone a Nazi/communist/Marxist/fascist, or imply without any proof that a public figure is treasonous, or dangerous, or "bad" for our country, you have personally rejected any notions of logic and rationality. It will not be very important to most people, especially politicians, what some random 21 year old from Oklahoma has to say about it--but in my eyes, this fallacy is the most unforgivable one. It plays on the most basic human instinct to be afraid of the unknown. People know that it works, and so they use it...but at what cost? Does anyone care about the lasting impact, the fact that this is what my generation is growing up with and we are thereby obligated to perpetuate or end it? Why couldn't YOUR generation end it? Does anyone care about how these things will influence the youth of our generation not to question what they are told, but instead to be overcome by fear when it comes to making serious decisions? Is anyone out there NOT okay with feeling like politicians think we're really that stupid, to be swayed so easily by words with negative connotations, instead of facts and reason?

     Maybe I am falling into the same trap I am complaining about, and I am basing all of this off of a fear that my country is going to turn into something bad and terrifying. Personally I do not feel scared...I'm just mad. Is that reasonable? Who knows. At least I haven't yet uttered the words "I fear for my country" yet, that's when you know someone's passed the point of no return. I've discussed all of this with a lot of people before, and the most logical response to all of this I really think would just be to ignore it. If you know that one media outlet only shows one side of any story, ignore it. Watch another channel. Better yet, do your own research. When you hear of something outlandish, look it up everywhere and make sure it's true before you send out a chain e-mail warning about the evils of nazi-ridden girl scout camps. If we don't try to educate ourselves on the issues, all we will know is what we are told by biased friends and the media and politicians, and most of the time, that isn't very helpful at all.

Purpose, an unnecessary introduction, and ridiculous things.

     I'm starting this blog for the purpose of examining the part that logic plays in my society. I think that most of it will be based on fallacies and the effect that different words have in an argument, because that's what I see the most of, but I'll add as much as I can as time goes on. This will double as my Logic class's final project.

     My name is Holley. I'm a 21 year old female student. I'm an Atheist, a liberal, and maybe a little naive when I think of our society's capacity for positive change. I am unashamedly obsessed with social progress, civil rights, strong logic, and being as open minded and objective as I can possibly be. I am angry about the state of a lot of things, namely the lack of objectivity in our media and the obsession with "winning" in politics--instead of having a focus on doing things to benefit our country and its people. I argue on the internet about a lot of things. I play a lot of video games. I draw bad comics. When I "grow up" I want to be a social worker. Or an author. Or a video game programmer. Or a spy. I want people to listen to the things I have to say, because sometimes I really think they are important. That might just be egotistical of me, though. I would also like to get paid to do nothing. I think that's normal.


     If there is one thing that I could wish to come from this blog, it would be to have at least one person think "Man, I never thought of it that way. That is pretty ridiculous.". I would like to inspire someone to do something to make things LESS ridiculous. I would like to have one person think about their actions, and stop saying ridiculous things. I would like to make myself less angry about the state of things, and a bit more hopeful. I'd like to do the same for other people. I just want to do SOMETHING, so here is my first step.