Derek Brown

Dr. Blake Scott

ENC -3331

24 May 2012

Title?

Rhetoric and Citizenship

Aristotle - The ability to discover the available means of persuasion in a given situation.

John Poulakos – art which seeks to capture in opportune moments that which is appropriate and

attempts to suggest that which is possible

The idea of rhetorical citizenship is derived from the connotations behind what it means to be a

citizen, and how citizens use rhetoric and are influenced by it. In an attempt to understand rhetorical

citizenship, both rhetoric and citizenship will be defined and analyzed then look at how their definitions

and meanings correlate to ultimately define the idea of rhetorical citizenship.

RhetoricRhetoric is an interesting topic. The idea behind it at its core is using communication effectively.

But as a means to use rhetoric rhetorically its definition is changed to meet the needs of the situation.

Each rhetorician defines rhetoric differently to meet their needs and essentially rhetoric is subjected to

rhetoric. Therefore, rhetoric for my purpose needs a solid definition and to do so I will analyze

professional opinions on rhetoric to discover my own rhetorically defined idea of rhetoric.

As stated, rhetoric at its core is communicating effectively. Any type of communication consists

of or has the potential to consist of rhetoric. Aristotle clarifies this idea of rhetoric saying it is “the ability

to discover the available means of persuasion in a given situation.” As Aristotle proposed, rhetoric is a

skill and; it is called upon to be used for a purpose. But it seems his definition is almost passive by

nature. One only calls upon the rhetoric skill for a necessary means. But Iin fact, rhetoric is not a skill

that is employed when necessary, but an active idea many use everyday unknowingly. John Poulakos’

idea of rhetoric states “the art which seeks to capture in opportune moments that which is appropriate

and attempts to suggest that which is possible”. Poulakos suggests a more aggressive and active idea of

rhetoric. He uses the word ‘seeks’ meaning the user of rhetoric is active in their pursuit of it. Both

definitions seem to define rhetoric as a dual sided idea. Whether you can use can employ it through a

learned ability or it is an almost unconscious pursuit toward all that is possible in a situation.

Citizenship

The best way Ccitizenship is best described in the comes from a movie from 1997 film called

“Starship Troopers”. The movie has an undertone of this dilemma usingof a civilian versus a citizen. A

civilian is essentially any one person strictly born into society; the person is granted civilian status

through birth. However, citizenship is an earned title. The best example is stated in the movieThe film

suggests this by stating “a citizen accepts personal responsibility for the safety of the body politic,

defending it with his life, a civilian does not”. A civilian becomes a citizen through devotion to what is

called the Federation in the movie. The idea behind civilian and citizenship in the movie is to give society

a respect toward those that devote themselves to bettering the community through duty to someone or

something else.

Citizenship is something that is earned. A person must “[have] the courage to make the safety

of the human race their personal responsibility”. One cannot force citizenship on to another. But Uusing

resources granted to each civilian, each member of society has an opportunity to earn this unofficial title

in their community. For example, education is a largely granted to every United States civilian. No

matter what income you have, or where you live, public education is available. The idea of education

being available in the United States is very clear because the country is ruled for the people, by the

people. This means that every individual has a say in the governing body through democracy; therefore,

an educated mass is essential so that the people can make informed decisions on who should run the

country. And by Oone can participate in their citizenship status by accepting this personal responsibility

of their part in government to elect a worthy leader.

Rhetorical Citizenship

Examining both rhetoric and citizenship shows that one can express their citizenship through

rhetoric. As Aristotle described rhetoric as a persuasive stance, suggesting that a citizen can use writing,

verbal communication, affiliation with clubs and organizations, clothing worn, places to live, places to

visit, and really any action that you choose has an a rhetorical motive. A person can choose to support a

political candidate or take a stance on an issue and use their power of rhetoric to express this. Once a

person accepts their responsibility toward the body politic, they can then employ the means at which to

use their available resources to express their responsibility. For example, an eighteen year old male

decides after high school to enter in the armed services. He chooses this as a personal choice and is

willing to service his country through such an act. By doing so he is expressing a rhetorical choice. He is

of age to join the military, is not bound by schooling or other obligations, and has the available means to

join the military. Therefore, he has taken a silence form of communication toward society. He is serving

his country as a citizen and expressing to people a higher calling of duty and honor. And he had done so

because he was given the available choices and took the opportunity to make it. Therefore, he

expressed his rhetorical citizenship through his available choices, his expression toward society, and

serving his community through serving his country.

Sponsorship through Rhetorical Citizenship

Every person has the capacity to learn and develop skills to be used through their community.

Finding these talents and putting them to good use is an inherent duty each person has toward one

another. Serving each other in this manner is what it means to be a rhetorical citizen. However, But

discovering these talents is half the battle. Not everyone is born knowing what to do or how to service.

Getting a proper education is one means of obtaining an idea of one’s skills, but really it comes down to

certain events or people that show us who we are and what we are good for. Deborah Brandt defines

theses events or people as sponsors saying they are “any agent, local or distant, concrete or abstract,

who enable, support, teach, model, as well as recruit…” (166). Clarifying on the meaning ofn these

sponsors, I will look toward myself as an example on how sponsors have helped me discover my

rhetorical citizenship.

I received my first real teachings of citizenship in junior high school in 2005 on the cross country

team. In 2005, I was a part of the Tuslaw Mustang’s Cross Country team on the outskirts of Massillon,

Ohio. During this time, I was about fourteen years old and still very immature concerningin ideals and on

life in general. Yet, But my time on the cross country team taught me many forms of self discipline and

always pursuing the best you can do, not what others expect of you. Life is about pursuing your

excellence not matter what that may be. My cross country coach, Mr. Brightman, told said one day

during cross country practice that “I see a lot of potential in you, Derek. You have so much drive and

determination. Use that to push yourself further.” This phrase sticks with me still today. I use it for more

than just running practice but as a general life lesson, as I am sure Brightman meant it as much. This

phrase has guided me to always pursue my best in everything I do and each day I should look to do

better than I did yesterday. I found that my citizenship to be the same way. One should take it as a

personal goal to achieve more today than yesterday and tomorrow more than today. As long as we as

people push ourselves we will service each through inspiration.

Though cross country taught me drive and gave me motivation, I still had yet to discover how to

use it. Where was I going to use my passion? With what? What was I good at that I could? These are

several questions I ask myself all the up until very recently in 2011 and 2012. Through several classes I

took, I first began to discover that I had a passion for writing. I first realized it in my English Composition

II class but later it evolved from writing into a more of a passion for rhetoric, using communication

effectively. I began to discover what I liked but I still had yet to discover what to do with that passion. So

I decided to take a career planning at UCF that allowed me to discover that legal studies and technical

communication were several things I enjoyed doing. So I figured out that I could use my rhetorical

citizenship toward writing and serving my community that way.

Derek,

I liked the information and observations that you provided in this paper; however, you need to take some time and review MLA format and improve the structure. The link that Dr. Scott mentioned in class would benefit you a lot. Purdue OWL.

Your paper should always have a solid introduction and conclusion. While you did have a thesis statement in your introduction, the introduction itself could be made longer. You will need to create a conclusion that sums up your paper.

Avoid starting sentences with “with” , “and,” and “but”, and “so”.

Make sure your headings are all the same size. I noticed that they switch back and forth. Subheadings can be smaller, but make sure they are meant to be subheadings.

You did a great job of following the requirements concerning content. I would go a little deeper and expand on the second sponsor. Then, connect them together somehow.

Again, you provided excellent examples.

Create a Works Cited page that lists all of your references.

Edited by Brittney Adams, 5/24/12

Works Cited