Irrationality

Debra Saunders notes how the catchphrases of the left are likely to be jettisoned now that they have responsibility. You could write a book on logical fallacies quoting politicians.

One of my favorite articles was written by the late Hugh W. Nibley called "Victoriosa Loquacitas: The rise of rhetoric and the decline of everything else." In it he traces the history of the Sophists, the Greeks who developed the art of persuasion to the point where the truth of a proposition became irrelevant. They were the original rock stars, making lots of money demonstrating their skills in oratory and laying the foundations of modern lobbying, debate, advertising and lawyering. We've all been hearing, watching and reading rhetoric and sophistries all our lives. The problem is that most of us are so used to false "logic" and rhetorical tricks that we have to make a conscious effort to spot the fallacies and avoid using them ourselves. Without the ability to separate truth from falsehood, national debate does us no good. It's as bad as being illiterate, and may destroy our democracy and our freedoms.