abortion

Christianity

demagogue

pro-choice

nationality

American

occupation / innovator as

lawyer

politician

member of the Iowa House of Representatives

diplomat

member of the State Senate of Iowa

is an issue whereby it's worth keeping in mind that the Bible does not in fact view the fetus as a person, or even alive in the sense of human life. According to the Bible, life enters the child at birth.

Through a study of several biblical passages, the author attempts to show that the Bible does not view the fetus as a person, or even alive in the sense of human life. He claims that according to the Bible, life enters the child at birth.

is careless with evidence, citing 'proof' which he refers to with innuendo but refuses to reveal publically.

The demagogue is also careless with evidence, citing 'proof' which is in fact proof of nothing at all. The textbook example of this approach is Senator Joseph McCarthy, who was much given to the waving of 'list' which were purported to contain the names of Communist in the State Department, or elsewhere. The list were never produced for inspection... the evidence was never provided. As Lomas points out, 'The citation of 'facts' is no guarantee of either their accuracy or their interpretation' ('The Rhetoric of Demagoguery' 164).

is given to flirting with agitation, willfully blurring the lines between demagoguery and agitation.

A second important distinction should be made, this one concerning the difference between what is nominally called demagoguery and nominally called agitation. The distinction has often been blurred in practice... for many, all agitators are demagogues, and vice versa (Lomas, The Agitator 18). Put simply, an agitator is someone who seeks to effect social change through rhetoric. The term often has a negative connotation because the status quo is usually resistant to change and thus wary of those who urge it (McEdwards 36). Although the agitator may resort to demagoguery, agitative rhetoric is not, in itself, demagogic (Lomas, The Agitator 19).

is given to name-calling, which creates a climate of emotional excitement and personal involvement on the part of the voters.

. For them, 'the function of name-calling was mainly to create a climate of emotional excitement and personal involvement on the part of the voters' (Larson 347). Indeed, the rhetoric of such men often demonstrated 'public contempt of social, economic, and political conventions' (Logue and Dorgan 9). In California, Dennis Kearney insulted his opponents with such venom and imagination that, had duelling been still in practice, he would have been challenged a dozen times (Clark 427).

is given to opportunistically focus on an 'enemy' which typically reflects existing hatreds and fears.

It is conceivable that the 'enemy' denounced by the demagogue could be solely his own invention, but history shows that demagogues usually exploit existing hatreds and fears. As was noted above, demagogues tend to be opportunist. Such opportunities are not, unfortunately, rare. In the American South, for example, 'hatred and resentment [were] concentrated on certain persons who [were] denounced as conspirators or rejected as unwholesome influences for the society' (Larson 345), which allowed Southern demagogues to flourish

Charles W. LarsonThinkers

Charles W. Larson