People prefer rhetoric. They do not care about the details. That is why creationism thrives. It’s why global warming denialists still have a place. It’s why Republicans get elected (Democrats, too). It’s so much easier to paint life with a broad brush – black and white colors only – than to actually delve into the nuance of existence.
Rather than address specific points, people give responses filled with rhetoric. When did this happen? When did we become a nation based upon the best zinger? Look at Joe the Plumber. That asshole was nothing but a political tool (and real life tool). America ate up that fecal deposit.
Go on to any random message board or comment section for any article. If people are disagreeing about an issue (and they are), they aren’t going point-by-point. They aren’t saying “I disagree with this statement and here’s why”. They’re saying “I disagree with your primary position and for that reason do not care to address anything you say”. It’s vapid.
(By the way, my post title references the final episode of “Band of Brothers”.)
Filed under: Misc | Tagged: Band of Brothers |
For the Sake of Science 
:LOL:
Anti-rhetoric rhetoric.
Priceless!
So what points should I be addressing specifically, Stripe?
I dunno. It’s your blog. If you want to post anti-rhetoric rhetoric then feel free … It IS quite entertaining .. :)
On my blog, I have a policy that bars anyone from making creationist type comments on my blog. But despite that, people, who are creationists, still continues to deliberately ignore it and put in rhetoric comments, saying I’m ignoring evidence, look into the Bible, someday I’ll know the truth, I got an angry site, I’m wrong, I engage in name calling, I’m a stupid atheist, God’s going to prove me wrong, send me to Hell on Judgment Day, etc. These comments I had to delete the moment they come across my site. As a result I have to fix it so that the comments will close after 14 days and only registered people can comment my blog. Believe me, sometimes it’s not easy exposing creationist lies.
Stripe, I asked you that question because this post is not based upon any individual thing that I’ve read, seen, or have experienced. There is no point-by-point possible here. My complaint isn’t that people summarize their positions. I actually wish more people could do that better. My complaint is that people gloss over the details when in discussions.
crazyharp81602, I know it probably seems like I’m responding to specific comments on my blog, but I’m not. Though many of them do fall under the subject of my post (firmly), I’ve had a version of this in my drafts for some time now. Creationists represent those who ignore points very well, but the symptoms spread beyond people with those silly beliefs.
I’ve considered deleting or editing some comments, but I prefer to allow people to challenge anything I saw and in any way they like. There may be dumb things said, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles.
Dude, you start out with the statement “people prefer rhetoric” and then proceed to use that to deride creationism. Why should we accept that your lambasting here is not equally applicable to all people (as you open with) rather than just the people you don’t like?
Well, it isn’t applicable to all people. Some people go point-by-point. It is applicable to many, though.
At any rate, the point I was making was that people like arguments based upon how they sound, not necessarily on content. Supporting this is the fact that emotional appeals are far more effective than they should be.
OK. Well, I agree, but I fail to see the use of declaring such things without some specific point you want to make about some situation….