Page 71 - Cultural Studies A Practical Introduction

Rhetoric 55

concept. The only truth is that “ truth ” is constructed by a series of argu-
ments carved from the material of language, not by access to a granite - like
reality that is the source of objective, universally agreed - upon certainty.
Think of it this way: even as they physically inhabit the same earth,
people everywhere experience different lived realities, and those realities

are often in conflict with each other. We can see and hear the same thing,
but we often come to very different understandings of what ’ s right there
before our eyes. How we make sense of an event is determined by the
language we use to describe it to ourselves and to others. The words we
choose provide a frame through which we comprehend reality, the same
way a camera frame focuses your attention on some aspects of a scene while
blocking out others. When you take a picture of something, you must make
a judgment as to what is most important in the scene that you wish to
capture, and what can be cut out. When later you show someone the
picture you have taken, they will only see what you ’ ve decided you want
them to see, and will interpret the event you photographed accordingly.
Rhetoric works the same way. Consider the difference between describing
a foreign - born person who is living in the US without the government ’ s
knowledge as an illegal alien or as an undocumented worker . The former
designation immediately casts the person into the same “ criminal ” category
as thieves and murderers, with all the frightening emotions this brings with
it, while the word alien brings to mind the most extreme and unknowable
form of difference, embodied in the popular imagination by the creature
from outer space. The subconscious associations it inspires are those of
danger and threat. On the other hand, undocumented worker positively
highlights the person ’ s labor and productivity, and implies that it is simply
a matter of bureaucratic red tape and some paperwork that separates the
person from being just like any other American citizen. Both illegal alien
and undocumented worker are technically “ true ” descriptions of the type of
person in question, but the selection of one rhetorical frame rather than
the other will determine which truth is accepted and which is rejected, and
will have serious consequences in terms of how people feel about and act
toward individuals bearing this status.
Those who wish to crack down on “ illegals ” and those who think such
terminology is unfair can both make claims to evidence which will back
up their arguments. The former can point to the legal codes which make
residency without government approval unlawful, and the latter can claim
that these codes have always been subject to revision as historical circum-
stances change. But rhetoric has the ability to sway people even when it is