Page 70 - Cultural Studies A Practical Introduction

54 Rhetoric

bodies and resources – in this case, the bodies of voters into voting booths,
and of political power to one candidate rather than another. While we may
not often think of words as having the same force as actions or objects –
recall the well - worn adage “ Sticks and stones may break my bones but
words can never hurt me ” – the fact is that words have tremendous power.
Words are what we use to motivate people to action.
Rhetoric is the strategic use of language in the effort to induce others to
respond to our needs and desires. This need not be understood as a sinister
enterprise; indeed, it is a necessary, even inescapable part of the human
condition. We are all rhetoricians. Many theorists of rhetoric would argue
that a statement as seemingly innocuous as “ Please pass the salt ” is a rhe-
torical act in which a speaker imposes her will upon the world. The speaker

has identified an internal need (more flavor in her food), strategically
chosen to begin her sentence with a word that will create a context of
goodwill and therefore increase the likelihood of her request being granted
( “ please ” ), designated the physical action she wishes her interlocutor to
perform ( “ pass ” ), and pinpointed the object of her desire in space ( “ the
salt ” ). This same speaker, upon finishing her dinner, may employ similar

strategies to persuade her friends that it is a better idea to watch The
Simpsons rather than American Idol , to organize a search party for a missing
toddler, or to convince a crowd that the right to club baby seals must be
protected by the US Constitution. Whatever the ethical dimensions of the
cause, rhetoric is, simply put, the way people get things done. While politi-
cians and other professional rhetoricians may disparage rhetoric as unscru-
pulous, cynically manipulative, and something that the other guy does, the
fact is that every use of language that is directed toward others for the
purpose of compelling action is rhetorical in nature.

We may at first recoil from the idea that our words are intended to make
people do things for us, and argue that we are simply telling the truth about
what we are thinking. However, here we must pause and reflect upon what

it means to “ tell the truth. ” Many contemporary theorists in the humanities
and social sciences agree that what individuals believe to be true is arrived
at through an ongoing process of negotiation and persuasion that occurs
at every level of cultural life, from interpersonal relationships to social
institutions such as government, religion, mass media, and education. At
each level of social organization there is a claim to a version of truth which
may or may not agree with the truth claims occurring at other levels. In
some cultures and contexts, scientists are deemed to have the strongest
claim to truth; in others, religious leaders have a stranglehold on the