This is the latest entry in my ongoing series on "The Rhetoric of Now," which seeks to show how concepts from the rhetorical tradition can help us comprehend the current political crisis. All entries are published on my personal blog paralepsis and are cross-posted at Daily Kos and The European Tribune. Each entry takes a rhetorical concept, explains it, and applies it to some aspect of the current political scene.

Apologies for the long delay since the last installment. This entry, for Memorial Day, is on memory.

This is the third entry in "The Rhetoric of Now," my series on how we can change our current political climate by understanding and employing concepts from the rhetorical tradition.  The first entry was on stasis or framing of questions; the second was on kairos or rhetorical time.  This entry will be on ethos.  

Let's start with something George Tenet said on 60 Minutes this past weekend:

You know, at the end of the day, the only thing you have is trust and honor in this world. It's all you have. All you have is your reputation built on trust and your personal honor. And when you don't have that anymore, well, there you go.

This is the second in a series of posts on how concepts from rhetoric can be used to help transform the current political climate.  For a broader context, see the first entry (on stasis theory).  Today's  entry is on kairos.

Kairos is usually defined as something like opportunity.  James Kinneavy, who has done more than anyone in modern times to revive the concept, defines it succinctly in an interview as "the right time and due measure."  But kairos was also a minor god.  So take a moment, would you, to look at this bas-relief of the figure of kairos. Take your time; I'll wait.

From the diaries ~ whataboutbob

This is the first in a series about how concepts from rhetoric can help progressives understand -- and change -- the current political climate.  It is based on the premise that the noble and ancient discipline of rhetoric is not trickery or deception, but rather that rhetorical literacy is a vital element of a healthy political community.  To quote the Greek rhetorician Isocrates, "the power to speak well and think right will reward the person who approaches the art of discourse with love of wisdom and love of honor."  (from the Antidosis). I hold that rhetoric anticipates and surpasses the best aspects of the current vogue for "framing," and that the rhetorical tradition offers a more humane and generous way of comprehending the social world.  

From the diaries ~ whataboutbob