Letters to the Editor
-
The Greeks did it first.
At the dawn of democracy in Greece, one candidate
dressed a statuesque woman in a helmet with sword and flowing garment announcing that Athena was on his side.
I began teaching freshman English just after the Korean war when people were afraid of brain washing. A pamphlet on how to spot propaganda was
written in WWII and later used in those classes.
For years, logic, argument, and propaganda anlysis was standard fare in the second freshman semester. In a Montgomery County, MD jr.college, each freshman wrote fifteen essays, analyzing advertising, various religious statements, and
arguments pro and con. Rhetoric used to be the backbone of learning how to understand the world.
Today's students are up for grabs by any person who can manipulate words and the silver screen.
Heated conversations among educated and informed speakers used to be a favorite pastime, now reduced to shouting matches.