Are You Kidding Me?

            Perusing my Facebook newsfeed recently, I saw this video posted by some bleeding-heart page that I must have Liked at some time or the other. It features one of my favorite politicians, Dennis Kucinich, sharing his insights on the possibility of a war with Iran. The video is loaded with a number of rhetorical devices, and some of his statements work on more than one level, which is to be analyzed… Right now.

            Early in the video, at about 0:30, he poses a question to his audience, “How would we feel if an Iranian aircraft, manned or not, was intercepted near the American Coast?” Though he goes on to answer the question with what he thinks would happen, the format of the question itself is one with which many of us are familiar, the classic “How would YOU feel if…” question. While it is a typical strategy of, say, a kindergarten teacher reprimanding the class bully, the question is still a good use of Pathos, since one has to ask himself how he would feel about reciprocity of his actions. The answer he gives is justified through Logos, as he states that any nation has the same rights to sovereignty that the US does, a conclusion he reaches through a logical deduction. He goes on to pose a rhetorical question, “Did we run out of wars to escalate?” Now I know this is plainly sarcastic, but it is still a good use of a rhetorical question because it gets his audience thinking about why we would need to start another war without even mentioning Iran. He finishes off with a Logos bid supplemented with some Pathos, stating some statistics about the millions of uninsured and unemployed residing in the US. The raw statistics are Logos, as they are just plain facts, but choosing unemployment and insurance coverage can play to an audience’s sympathy with the less fortunate of the nation.

            In my opinion, disregarding whether I agree with him or not, Dennis Kucinich is a good guy. He stands up for his beliefs, even if they are unpopular, and he seems to have a great deal of conviction and integrity. Also, he has a pretty hot wife. My view of his good ethics go to show me that just because someone is skilled in the art of rhetoric, even if he is a politician, doesn’t mean that he is an underhanded or bad person.