“CEASE & DESIST,” former president Donald Trump began in a statement on TruthSocial. “Please be aware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters & Corrupt Election Officials,” he wrote, adding that these people “will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.” Just […]
Tag: rhetoric
Armchair Classicism, the Politics of the Past, and You
Watching the House impeachment proceedings the week after the January 6th, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol, I found myself baffled by the face mask worn by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14). It read MOLON LABE in blood-red letters, a phrase adapted from the Ancient Greek μολών λαβέ, meaning essentially “come and take [them].” According […]
Political Innovation: Taking a Page from the Business Playbook
We live in a world marred by uncertainty. Each day it seems that more and more crises are coming to the fore: incoming climate disaster, rampant xenophobia, growing economic discontent. Yet the approach by many political leaders to this rapidly-changing environment is the same as it has been for decades: maintain stability, keep law and […]
“Snowflake” and the Decline in Civil Discourse
“Snowflake.” A precursory Google search brings about an array of sources. YouTube recommends a video entitled, “SNOWFLAKE GETS OWNED BY MILITARY VET!” Breitbart offers an article entitled, “Triggered: Journalist Snowflakes Scared Trump Supporters Are ‘Turning on the Media.’” Most definitions for “snowflakes” revolve around the same general concept: a derogatory slang term that describes a […]
The Politics of Code: An Exploration of Technological Activism
“Slacktivism” has become a common term to reference individual efforts to use social media platforms as a means of political activism. This is often further characterized by inaction other than sharing political opinions on social media. As a result, people have stopped viewing technology as something with innate political utility but instead see it as […]
The Power in a Political Narrative
It may be a cliche, but the phrase “Trump means it seriously, but not literally” may be quite telling about the power of rhetoric that supports a particular worldview. Narratives, or larger stories about the way the world is, are essential to political candidates. When one thinks of former president Ronald Reagan, we not only […]
A Coded Political Mantra
According to Malcolm X, “Racism is like a Cadillac, they bring out a new model every year.” Since the outlaw of slavery, racial discrimination taken on many different forms, from physical abuse, to legal segregation, to dog whistle politics, with the last yet to be prohibited. Today, dog whistle politics, a type of political speech […]