Rhetorical citizenship the unused key The term rhetorical citizenship at first glance might not seem like

a term that encompasses much but it certainly does. It encompasses not only what rhetoric means, what it means to be a citizen in an unconventional legal sense but also what those two terms mean when they are put together. Through out this paper I will use my idea of what each of them is and show how I believe I have been sponsored in my life. Rhetoric to me means a process used in conveyance of opinion while citizenship basically means your role or part in something. In the research I did on rhetoric I found a lot more than the typical definitions of fluff or useless. I found a deeper, more psychological meaning, which can be illustrated in all of American and world politics, the founding of civilization and even in the beginnings of our governmental system. Rhetoric to me meant words or things you said in order to either sound educated or fluff up a statement. Now I have come to understand rhetoric to be the process, triggered by a certain event or set of events, used to convey a specific point or type of action related to an event. In the article by Sharon Crowley and Debra Hawhee, they state, Even more important, the ancient teachers knew that people differ in their opinions on how the world works, so that is was often hard to see whose opinion was the best. They invented rhetoric so they would have means of judging whose opinion was most accurate, useful, or valuable. (Pg. 2) Politicians are always accused of being Rhetoricians, but in their line of work it is understandable. They think carefully first about what their goal is, then what they need to say and how to say it to get that goal accomplished as quickly and effectively as possible. A good politician can convince or persuade you to come to their side or opinion of an argument without you even knowing. As Herrick says Regardless

of the goal at which it aims, rhetorical discourse involves forethought or planning(Pg. 9) Now this is not to say that the lay are uneducated or easily convinced, but knowing how to convey or present oneself, what to say to invoke the needed emotions or reactions and to do it in a way so eloquently that your mind sees no other side than that being the right one, is truly an art. The art of rhetoric was much more familiar in the times of ancient Greece when you had to stand up and prove why your way or candidate was the best in front of many other educated people. This state of provocation through voice is something almost unseen today and truly reflects the lost art of rhetoric, though it is not entirely extinct. I offer another example of my opinion of a good rhetorician, in my fraternity we have chapter every Sunday. The chapter is run democratically we all vote on nine people to hold the top positions and on actions of the chapter. There is one member of the chapter that has earned respect and admiration for the way he can stand up, say his opinion, convey why that is the most attractive option and everyone will listen and most times vote the way he is. He speaks clearly, respectfully, concisely and rhetorically. The last one is probably the most essential, for based on the event or action at hand he will present himself differently, use different speech techniques and different appeals to us his audience. All these things I believe make you an effective rhetorician and a strategic speaker. The role of citizenship is as tricky, if not more so than rhetoric; this is always an assumed legal status of some nation, state or organization. But can the term encompass more than that? I never really thought so or inquired did deeper into the meaning of this word, but after research and thought I believe now there are multiple meanings. I have come to understand citizenship meaning you are an active, productive and healthy part of

something. The word citizenship when truly thought about provokes both common word agreements like country or voting but also the uncommon and abstract like unity, actualization and health. There need be no explanation of how country or voting relate back to the word citizenship, though the more abstract ones serve to prove my definition. The word unity is probably the simplest of these three, when you are a citizen you are unified in a group, one of many, you share a common link with other members of your group. The word unity serves as a bridge to the other two words, actualization is arguably the most difficult, the context of which I am referring to is in a psychological pyramid of needs or Maslows hierarchy of needs. This pyramid shows the things people need to survive such as food, water and shelter etc. the smallest but arguably the most important part of the pyramid is something called self actualization. The multitude of ways to reach self actualization are minute to say the least. One of them is society, it is shown that humans are happier and more intelligent when they are the member of a society, this is because people are social creatures. This paves the way for the last word, health. This goes hand in hand with actualization, if you are self actualized you are healthy, you have food, water and shelter now you can focus on you and your other societal, educational and actualized needs which is something I will come back to towards the end of my paper when I talk about rhetorical citizenship as a whole term rather than the two parts separately. Rhetorical citizenship as a concept means that subsequent to something, you know the outcome you want and you know it will affect positively the area you occupy. Rhetorically being a citizen I believe necessitates education, that is the key. In order to even understand how or why you would need to present yourself in a certain way you

would need to have read books, talked to people and gone to school. The same is true in conveying your points, appealing to the audience and the most important part being able to consciously think about an event or occurrence and formulate a solution and know why that solution is best. The same key, education, I believe is true in being a productive citizen of the world. In order to even be able to reflect about the multiple definitions or ideas the word could encompass, you must be educated. Education in my view is what makes a rhetorician and a citizen and those are one in the same. If you are able to get your point across and convince people it is the best option, you are a productive citizen because you are working to change the world to a better place, you are actively trying to ease the process, stop tragedies and respite pain. Being a rhetorical citizen means you are as educated as possible, the old saying is true knowledge is power. With education comes knowledge and with knowledge comes power and with power hopefully come happiness, not just for you but the people you exercise power over. Being a rhetorical citizen doesnt just mean being a leader, you can be anyone; teacher, attorney, parent, student. The following two sponsors of rhetorical citizenship are not similar at all but are related nonetheless. In order to be a sponsor of rhetorical citizenship you must promote good ideals, education, actualization, health, and awareness among many other things. As George Kennedy states in his article on the history of rhetoric, The energy inherent in emotion and thought, transmitted through a system of signs including language, to others to influence their decisions or actions. (Herrick pg. 5) Anything can be rhetoric and those that sponsor it use such tools to affect the person. The first sponsor was my high school AP English teacher, Mrs. Johnson. Mrs. Johnson was a very educated woman with

a doctorate and a few other degrees, she was well read and well versed in life. Mrs. Johnson not only challenged me, she supported and helped me look outside the conventional way of things. She helped me realize one of my strengths, my future career and how to truly be an adult. By all of these ways she was a sponsor to me, if not for her I may not be here in this class, with the goals and intentions I have. If Mrs. Johnson had not come into my life and sponsored me when she did, in my mind it is doubtful I would ever reach a rhetorical citizen of our world. The next sponsor in my life is an irregular one for two reasons, it is a situation rather than a person and it rarely has as positive an effect as it did for me. The second sponsor for me is my parents divorce my junior year in high school. Up until this point I didnt really care about growing up, being educated. I though everything would be handed to me as it had for the last eighteen years of my life, my life was my own but my potential was not. After their divorce I went on a downward spiral for a short period; not knowing, caring or understanding any of the trials of life. At this point Mrs. Johnson came into my life and sponsored me as she did, and did not explain anything to me but allowed me to learn and see that their was a light at the end of the tunnel and it was in my hands. If this divorce did not happen I would not have the thirst for knowledge and education that I do, the ambition or dreams that I do, the willingness and desire to make everything I am a part of the best it can be. Without the divorce I would not be as healthy and mentally clear as I am, ready to see, experience and change the world using my talents and knowledge. These two sponsors together showed me the path to adulthood, the path to enlightenment and the path to citizenship. The fostered education which is truly a beautiful thing and proves that in order to be a citizen you must be educated, if you are educated you are healthy in the mind, more likely to be

active in the workings of the world and thusly more likely to be productive. If you are not educated you wont understand what is going on, yet alone be able to convey your points to get the change you want to see. Rhetorical citizenship is a necessity in society both as the two terms separate and the idea in its entirety, this is crucial for well being on our planet and our future.

Work Citied 1. Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. 4TH ed. New York: Pearson, 2009. (excerpt) 2. Herrick, James A. The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction. 4th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2009. (excerpt)