The more I learn about rhetoric, the more I want to yell “why didn’t anyone tell me this before?” I’ve realized the only reason I understand rhetoric, let alone know what it is, is because I took a class on rhetoric - my classmates, and maybe 3-5 more people, are the only others I know who know about rhetoric; that means that most of the people I have known throughout my life don’t really know what rhetoric is. I can’t help to think this is just a bit scary, especially now that I see how useful, and important, rhetoric is.
This video was great. Along with the readings, my idea of rhetoric has grown; it is obvious rhetoric is a significant factor in our human intellect. “Rhetoric creates reality in creating perception,” and I completely agree. I worked in a hotel for three years, and one of the things I learned that I still repeat today is that “one’s perception is their reality.” We would say this when thinking about the hotel guests and how their perception is the most important factor in a successful hotel experience. I never forgot that; to find this detail in this video made it’s impact even stronger.
It is only natural that the more I learn about rhetoric, the more I apply it in my life, and see it in my surroundings and interactions with people. Rhetoric is “language and argument.” I chose to get my BA in English because I love language, all it’s complexities, beauty, and power. Rhetoric has only established my love for language. I can see myself using it for the rest of my life, in every aspect, from personal to professional. It is the “process by which we can make informed decisions...a way of knowing,” it scares me that “people don’t questions the lives they live at all because they don’t have the ability to do that.” It’s as if I can see something that people who don’t know what rhetoric is don’t see. In fact I know it is.
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