{"id":450,"date":"2025-05-26T16:54:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T16:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=450"},"modified":"2025-09-06T20:08:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T20:08:35","slug":"public-speaking-as-the-intersection-of-rhetoric-and-democracy","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/chapter\/public-speaking-as-the-intersection-of-rhetoric-and-democracy\/","title":{"raw":"Public Speaking as the Intersection of Rhetoric and Democracy","rendered":"Public Speaking as the Intersection of Rhetoric and Democracy"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox textbox--learning-objectives\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Chapter Objectives<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n<p class=\"import-pf\">Students will:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Identify and explain seven characteristics of rhetoric as a civic art.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Describe the origins of democracy and its reliance on rhetoric.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Identify the ways rhetoric and democracy reinforce each other.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Demonstrate how ordinary people use rhetoric to engage their communities.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nAt the age of fifteen, Swedish teenager <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><a class=\"rId17\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/PF98-H3AV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"import-url\">Greta Thunberg<\/span><\/a><\/span> grew very concerned about climate change. Many kids her age shared this concern, but Thunberg acted on it. In August 2018, she began skipping school each Friday to protest outside the Swedish Parliament building and elsewhere. She advocated for politicians to take action and stop the environment\u2019s degradation. She became, in these actions, a democratic participant.\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\r\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">School strike week 28. In Hamburg with <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Luisamneubauer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@Luisamneubauer<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/climatestrike?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#climatestrike<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/fridaysforfuture?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fridaysforfuture<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/schoolstrike4climate?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#schoolstrike4climate<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XhE3WtVS5D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/XhE3WtVS5D<\/a><\/p>\r\n\u2014 Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GretaThunberg\/status\/1101440326932279299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">March 1, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Does it seem strange to call a fifteen-year-old a democratic participant? You may think the label only applies to people who can vote and to elected leaders or government officials. However, <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><strong class=\"import-b\">democratic participants<\/strong><\/span> include all those who participate in public conversations about issues in a democratic society. Opportunities to speak in such conversations occur in local, regional, national, and even international organizations and networks where people work together for positive change. Perhaps you are already involved in such a group on your campus or in your community: a service organization like Habitat for Humanity, an affinity group such as a Latino cultural association, or a team of debaters or deliberation facilitators who help people think or talk through tough public issues.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">You do not need to be a legal citizen to be a democratic participant. While you must be a US citizen to <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">vote<\/em><\/span> in elections, citizenship is not required to engage in public communication and community building. For this reason, unless we are talking specifically about voting in political elections, in this book we use \u201cdemocratic participants\u201d and \u201ccommunity members\u201d when we refer to democratic participation.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">This chapter explores democratic participation more fully by considering rhetoric and its relationship to democracy. It begins with a definition of rhetoric as a civic art with seven important characteristics. We then turn to an explanation of the historical relationship between rhetoric and democracy with a particular emphasis on the beginnings of democracy in ancient Greece. The chapter next describes how rhetoric and democracy are mutually reinforcing and ends by returning to Thunberg as an example of civic engagement and democratic participation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h1 class=\"import-ah\">Rhetoric as a Civic Art<\/h1>\r\n<p class=\"import-paft\">Teachers and scholars have often associated rhetoric with persuasion, but with mixed characterizations. While some have positively associated the term with rich thought and expression, others have negatively equated rhetoric with hollow talk. Both versions can be considered rhetoric.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n\r\n<strong>Box 1.1 Rhetoric\u2019s Rich Heritage<\/strong>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_37\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"297\"]<img class=\"wp-image-37 \" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image2.png\" alt=\"Two circular arrows form a cycle between 'Public Speaking' and 'Democracy', each enclosed in a circle. Between them, a statement reads: 'The more we practice public speaking, the more vibrant our democracy becomes.'\" width=\"297\" height=\"301\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/picryl.com\/media\/hortus-deliciarum-philosophy-and-the-seven-liberal-arts-cropped-031b13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hortus Deliciarum, Philosophy and the Seven Liberal Arts<\/a> via Wikimedia Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/public-domain\/pdm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Public Domain<\/a>.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nDuring the Middle Ages and Renaissance in Western higher education, rhetoric was one of the seven traditional liberal arts, which included the trivium (i.e., grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and the quadrivium (i.e., arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy).\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">In this book, we offer a definition of rhetoric that sets a high standard for public communication in society. We define <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><strong class=\"import-b\">rhetoric<\/strong><\/span> as a civic art devoted to the ethical study and use of symbols (verbal and nonverbal) to address public issues. Because rhetoric is such a rich concept, our definition deserves an extended explanation.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\"><img class=\"alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image3.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"140.4px\" height=\"140.4px\" \/>First, rhetoric is a <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">civic art<\/em><\/span> that is produced and studied for the good of society. We use <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><strong class=\"import-b\">civic<\/strong><\/span> in a manner reminiscent of its Latin origin (<span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">civicus<\/em><\/span>): matters that relate to the city or citizens. Since we recognize that democratic participants need not be citizens, we use \u201ccivic\u201d in this book to emphasize matters that relate to public life. <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><strong class=\"import-b\">Civic engagement<\/strong><\/span> refers to participation in community organizations, institutions, and groups with the goal of contributing to the public good. Rhetoric, then, is our chief tool to participate in public life and improve our communities. We characterize rhetoric as a civic <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">art<\/em><\/span> because it encourages and requires individual expression, interpretation, and style. Such artistry requires speakers to study and practice rhetoric, which is the next characteristic.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Second, rhetoric entails both the study and use of symbols, which we refer to as <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">rhetorical theory and practice<\/em><\/span>. That is, rhetoric includes training (practice) in the use of symbols, such as speechmaking. It also involves studying the symbols produced by others. These studies draw on and help create theories about how rhetoric functions.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image4.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"130px\" height=\"130px\" \/>Third, both the study and use of rhetoric are <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">ethical<\/em><\/span> practices because they are grounded in moral principles, based on reason, and attached to rigorous standards of evaluation. This suggests that rhetoric is actively (or consciously) produced and that the ethical (or unethical) nature of the motives, choices, and effects of a speaker or analyst is important.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Fourth, rhetoric includes <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">verbal and<\/em><\/span> <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">nonverbal symbols<\/em><\/span>. Verbal symbols are the words we write, speak, and study. Nonverbal symbols include visual images and audio sounds. All symbols can be powerful in democratic discourse. For example, consider how images of war and destruction, sounds of gunfire and chaotic yelling, and words calling for public support can move audiences.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">A fifth characteristic of rhetoric is that it is typically used to <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">address public issues<\/em><\/span>. The emphasis here is on the audiences who are addressed or spoken to about public issues. In other words, rhetoric is produced for public audiences. While the <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><strong class=\"import-b\">rhetor<\/strong><\/span>, or the one who speaks publicly, is important, the listener or reader\u2014that is, the audience\u2014also plays a crucial role. The audience interprets, evaluates, responds to, and acts on\u2014or resists\u2014a rhetor\u2019s public discourse. Consequently, meaning is ultimately negotiated between a rhetor and an audience.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\"><img class=\"alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image5.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"120px\" height=\"120px\" \/>This relationship between the rhetor and an audience leads to a sixth characteristic of rhetoric: Rhetoric is a <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">form of power<\/em><\/span>. Rhetoric can be a means of control that encourages action or limits an audience\u2019s options, sometimes without us even being aware of this effect. In a most basic example, consider how a parent gets their young child to do and not do many things simply with words. Then consider the power of the words in documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. As those documents suggest, rhetoric has the power to liberate from domination.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n\r\n<strong>Box 1.2 Rhetoric as a Form of Power<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image6.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"128.666666666667px\" height=\"128.666666666667px\" \/>An example of rhetoric as a form of power can be found in Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s powerful refrain <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><a class=\"rId23\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/6FG5-LUBU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"import-url\">\u201cI have a dream\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/span> from the speech he delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. That repeated phrase carried the vision and essence of the American civil rights movement to resist oppressive, racist beliefs and policies and to empower people of color to live in equality with white Americans.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Rhetoric has the ability\u2014the power\u2014to put ideas before the eyes and in the minds of audiences and to move audiences through language, sound, and imagery. At the same time, audiences can accept, alter, or resist those efforts.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\"><img class=\"alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image7.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"118.733333333333px\" height=\"118.733333333333px\" \/>Seventh, and finally, rhetoric is <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">situational and contingent<\/em><\/span>. Rhetoric operates in specific contexts and situations to address problems that are of a probabilistic and contingent nature. Rather than dealing with truth claims that are verified through formal logic or scientific demonstration, rhetoric addresses contingent matters that are uncertain, open to multiple possibilities, and dependent on many variables. Reasonable people are likely to disagree on how to best address specific community issues. While it is generally used to persuade, rhetoric can also be utilized to inform an audience. Both goals are valuable when community members need to better understand the particular situation and contingent nature of a public issue and decide on a solution.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n\r\n<strong>Box 1.3 Seven Characteristics of Rhetoric as a Civic Art<\/strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Rhetoric is a <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">civic art<\/em><\/span> that is produced and studied for the good of society.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Rhetoric entails both the <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">study and use<\/em><\/span> of symbols.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The study and use of rhetoric are <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">ethical<\/em><\/span> practices grounded in moral principles, based on reason, and attached to rigorous standards of evaluation.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Rhetoric includes <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">verbal and nonverbal symbols<\/em><\/span>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Rhetoric is used to <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">address public issues<\/em><\/span> by communicating to an audience.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Rhetoric is a <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">form of power<\/em><\/span>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Rhetoric is <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">contingent and situational<\/em><\/span>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Our definition focuses attention on rhetoric\u2019s use in public contexts among community members and policymakers. Thus, it specifically orients us to the practice of <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><strong class=\"import-b\">public speaking<\/strong><\/span>, which is the process of forming and delivering rhetorical content to an audience in the hopes of persuading or informing that audience. Public speech is a primary means of participation in a democratic society. We turn next to exploring the beginnings of democracy in ancient Greece and its reliance on rhetoric.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h1 class=\"import-ah\">The Historical Relationship Between Rhetoric and Democracy<\/h1>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_43\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"500\"]<img class=\"wp-image-43\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image8.png\" alt=\"A distant picture of the Greek Acropolis\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldhistory.org\/image\/430\/athens-acropolis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Athens Acropolis<\/a> by Mark Cartwright via Worldhistory.org, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY-NC-SA<\/a>.[\/caption]\r\n<p class=\"import-paft\">From its beginning, democracy was conducted in and through rhetoric. In the West, this relationship began in Athens, Greece, in the late sixth century BCE. Imagine an Athenian male during that time. Unlike their ancestors, who lived in a society structured by a noble class, they are an active participant in the governmental functioning of their city-state. They can speak about the important issues of the day with their fellow citizens not only informally but also formally in the Assembly meetings\u2014regular gatherings of Athenian citizens who discussed and voted on the important public issues of the day. During their lifetime, they are likely to serve in one or more governmental positions as a magistrate and to serve regularly as a juror.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">This expression of democracy was revolutionary. Indeed, it is hard to exaggerate the importance of these advances, as participation was shared much more widely than ever before in Western history.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n\r\n<strong>Box 1.4 Democratic Participation in the Athenian Assembly<\/strong>\r\n\r\nLet\u2019s take a closer look at the Athenian Assembly to understand how the power to participate was shared. <span style=\"text-align: initial; font-size: 1em;\">The Athenian Assembly met forty times each year on the Pnyx Hill in Athens, Greece. Attendance ranged from three thousand to six thousand citizens. The Pnyx represented the political center of the city-state, in contrast to the Agora marketplace (the social and legal center) and the Acropolis (the religious center with the Parthenon, Erechtheion, and other sacred and ceremonial buildings), which both sat adjacent to the Pnyx. These three\u2014Pnyx, Agora, Acropolis\u2014formed a physical and visual triangle.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_44\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"500\"]<img class=\"wp-image-44\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image9.png\" alt=\"A picture of the speaker's platform on Pnyx Hill\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/14824807@N00\/4695990765\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Speaker's Platform, Pnyx Hill, Athens<\/a> by Larry via Flickr, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY<\/a>.[\/caption]\r\n<p style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Assembly meetings began from the speaker\u2019s platform located on the Pnyx. The presiding officer sacrificed a pig and prayed to the gods. A proposal was then announced, and the presiding officer asked, \u201cWho wishes to speak?\u201d Any topic could be raised during the Assembly meetings, but the majority of topics were set in an agenda constructed by a smaller council. Anyone could speak two times on a single issue, and there was no formal time limit. There were means for keeping long-winded speakers in check, however, such as heckling and, in more extreme cases, shouting the person down. These meetings were often quite boisterous and emotionally expressive. When the moment seemed right, the presiding officer called for a vote. As such, the participants in this democracy had the opportunity to fully engage in listening, speaking, and voting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Of course, ancient Athenian democracy was far from perfect. It excluded women, foreign-born males, and slaves. In addition, critics such as Plato, Isocrates, Thucydides, and Aristophanes critiqued the Athenian democratic experiment toward the end of its prominence, in the late fifth and early fourth centuries. They consistently characterized Assembly members as at times easy to manipulate, gullible, distracted, and lacking in motivation for the task of self-governance.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Two-and-a-half millennia later, many of these critiques persist. Some in the United States worry that the majority of democratic participants lack the ability to stay informed enough to engage productively in the political process. The enormous size of the United States, with over 340 million people, also poses tremendous difficulties for participation. It is rare to experience the personal nature of Athenian democracy\u2019s face-to-face rhetorical exchanges.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Similarly, just as ancient Athenian democracy excluded women, non-Athenian males, and slaves, today critics express concern over whether all members of the public\u2014all races, ethnicities, religions, socioeconomic statuses, and other groups\u2014are fully able to participate and have their ideas heard.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Yet at the same time that Plato and others critiqued democracy, some teachers pointed to exciting ways that rhetorical education could improve democratic engagement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"import-bh\"><em>Rhetorical Education<\/em><\/h2>\r\n<p class=\"import-paft\">Because it occurred through public speaking, democratic participation created the need to educate individuals in the practice. Some teachers, such as Aristotle, taught the principles of rhetoric to noble Athenian students, including Alexander the Great. The early sophists, like Protagoras, Gorgias, and Isocrates, however, violated tradition by teaching a range of subjects, including rhetoric, to anyone for a fee. Their new educational model helped shift the city-state of Athens away from a nobility structure and toward broader democratic participation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n\r\n<strong>Box 1.5 Ancient Rhetorical Education and Civic Engagement<\/strong>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_46\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"250\"]<img class=\"wp-image-46\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image11-300x287.png\" alt=\"Bust of Isocrates\" width=\"250\" height=\"239\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Afbeelding_van_Isocrates..jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Isocrates<\/a> by Student Vives TVW via Wikimedia Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY-SA<\/a>.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nBoth Isocrates and Aristotle pointed to exciting ways a rhetorical education could improve students\u2019 democratic engagement.\r\n<p style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Isocrates became famous for his school of rhetoric, which emphasized civic participation. It trained students to focus their rhetorical skills on addressing practical matters of the state.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_45\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"196\"]<img class=\"wp-image-45\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image10-236x300.png\" alt=\"Bust of Aristotle\" width=\"196\" height=\"250\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Aristotle_transparent.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Aristotle<\/a> by Alvaro Marques Hijazo via Wikimedia Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Public Domain<\/a>.[\/caption]\r\n<p style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Aristotle similarly taught rhetoric, alongside a wide variety of other subjects, at his school called the Lyceum. In fact, Aristotle\u2019s <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">Rhetoric<\/em><\/span> is believed to be a collection of his students\u2019 notes taken during, or in response to, his lectures.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Isocrates and Aristotle devoted much of their lives to teaching rhetoric to students, demonstrating the difficulty of the skills involved and their importance for democratic participation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt; padding-left: 40px;\">Much has changed since democracy and rhetoric began in ancient Greece. Yet when we turn to the United States, we see that rhetoric has played a similarly important role in the establishment of American democracy. Rhetoric was used among colonists in discussions and debates about the British Crown\u2019s control and eventually over their possible independence, leading to the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt; padding-left: 40px;\">Today, many US colleges and universities continue to teach public speaking skills to prepare students for effective democratic participation. In fact, as box 1.6 illustrates, many of the fundamental skills taught in public speaking courses today reflect the canons of rhetoric first described by Aristotle! The relationship between rhetoric and democracy in the US and elsewhere remains strong.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n\r\n<strong>Box 1.6 The Canons of Rhetoric<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe basic elements of public speaking, first described by Aristotle, were put into a formal structure by Cicero in the first century BCE.\r\n<p class=\"hanging-indent\"><strong class=\"import-b\">Invention<\/strong> is the process of investigation and thought that produces the content of your speech. We will explore elements of invention in chapters 5, 25, and 26.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"hanging-indent\"><strong class=\"import-b\">Organization<\/strong> is how a speaker orders the points in a speech and verbally connects those elements so their audience can follow. You will learn about organization in chapters 12, 13, and 14.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"hanging-indent\"><strong class=\"import-b\">Style<\/strong> is the language or expression we use\u2014the words we choose. Chapter 16 focuses on style.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"hanging-indent\"><strong class=\"import-b\">Memory<\/strong> is how a speaker stores and recalls the information shared in a speech. We will cover memory in chapter 17.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"hanging-indent\"><span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><strong class=\"import-b\">Delivery<\/strong><\/span> is how a speaker physically conveys words and ideas, both vocally and nonverbally, to the audience. Chapters 17 and 18 will explore delivery.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h1 class=\"import-ah\">Rhetoric and Democracy Are Mutually Reinforcing<\/h1>\r\n<p class=\"import-paft\"><span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><strong class=\"import-b\">Democracy<\/strong><\/span> is a political system that locates control and power in the people. You may think such power resides in the ability to vote. However, rhetoric provides community members with many more ways to exercise power and control in a democracy. In fact, their voices\u2014their rhetorics\u2014are necessary to establish and maintain democracy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"import-bh\"><em>Rhetoric Encourages Democracy<\/em><\/h2>\r\n<p class=\"import-paft\">Rhetoric encourages democracy in several ways: It helps form communities, focuses members\u2019 attention on shared concerns, and enables members to advocate and to think critically.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_47\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"334\"]<img class=\"wp-image-47\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image12.png\" alt=\"exterior view of the U.S. Capitol Building\" width=\"334\" height=\"500\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/facade-of-the-capitol-building-7016963\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facade of the Capitol Building<\/a> by Ramaz Bluashvili via Pexels, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/license\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pexels license<\/a>.[\/caption]\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">First, rhetoric encourages democracy by being the chief means by which a community of any size is formed. That is, until a group of people\u2014whether it is an organization, a town, a city, a state, or a nation\u2014communicates with one another, they do not exist as an entity in any significant way. Rhetoric is how laws and policies and governmental and nongovernmental institutions are created and revised.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Furthermore, rhetoric is the primary way a community perceives itself as such. It matters, for instance, that the <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><a class=\"rId30\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/VWW6-UXZX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"import-url\">Preamble to the <\/span><span class=\"import-url\">US<\/span><span class=\"import-url\"> Constitution<\/span><\/a><\/span> begins by labeling the American colonists as \u201cWe the People.\u201d They became a people, in part, through that rhetorical expression. You might consider how your college or university uses rhetoric to name itself <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">as<\/em><\/span> a community. Students at the Pennsylvania State University, for instance, tend to yell <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><a class=\"rId31\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/YDQ8-FFLC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"import-url\">\u201cWe are Penn State\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/span> during football games. Perhaps your college participates in similar rhetorical practices of self-naming and governance?<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Second, rhetoric encourages democracy by enabling participants to jointly focus their attention on particular issues. Every community encounters challenges and must find ways to address them. Rhetoric provides that way. Participants use rhetoric to draw attention to issues, share lived experiences, advocate for solutions, and choose pathways forward. That is, rhetoric enables the public to attend together to matters of shared concern. You might consider how groups you are part of at college or in the local community use rhetoric to talk through challenges and issues.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Finally, rhetoric supports democracy by supplying the fundamental skills necessary for effective participation. These skills include both the production <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">and analysis<\/em><\/span> of messages.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">Former president of the National Association of Teachers of Speech W. Norwood Brigance declared, \u201cEvery educated person ought to know when a thing is proved and when it is not proved, should know how to investigate and to analyse a proposition that confronts him [<span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">sic<\/em><\/span>], and how to search for a solution, how to talk about it effectively before others, and how to contribute to a discussion on problems of joint interest.\u201d[footnote]W. Norwood Brigance, \u201c1946: Year of Decision,\u201d <em>Quarterly Journal of Speech<\/em> 33 (1947): 133.[\/footnote]<\/div>\r\n<img class=\"alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image13.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"120.666666666667px\" height=\"120.666666666667px\" \/>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">To function effectively in a democracy, democratic participants must be able to assess others\u2019 communication and effectively voice their thoughts.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Developing the abilities to speak well and critically analyze communication will not only aid you as an individual, but these skills will also help you protect democracy. Democratic participants who are trained in rhetoric are better able to identify, call out, and avoid unethical communication practices that threaten and weaken democracy. We will explore these practices in greater detail in later chapters.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">In sum, rhetoric and democracy cannot be separated. Rhetoric is both the means by which democratic participation takes place and the content that is produced through that participation. When we shift from thinking \u201cdemocracy equals voting\u201d to appreciating that \u201cdemocracy is a system in which all the participants, the people, have the power,\u201d we see how integral rhetoric is to this process.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n\r\n<strong>Box 1.7 Practicing Democracy<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWe each have multiple and recurring opportunities for civic engagement:\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Speak up in class to respond to what your professor and your classmates have to say.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Ask questions and share your ideas at public events on your campus.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Attend the open hearings and meetings of your local school board and city council and ask questions, share your ideas, and advocate.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Write or call your local representative, mayor, or the governor of your state about an issue or to suggest a new solution to a problem.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, record a podcast, or upload a social media post and follow the responses you receive.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2 class=\"import-bh\"><em>Democracy Encourages Rhetoric<\/em><\/h2>\r\n<p class=\"import-paft\">The relationship between rhetoric and democracy can also be seen when we consider how democracy encourages rhetoric. It does so in at least three ways: Democratic government bodies require ordinary people\u2019s participation, democracy protects people\u2019s right to publicly disagree with their government leaders, and election victories rely, in part, on rhetorical skill.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">First, all three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) allow\u2014and in many cases require\u2014participation by the people. Presidential candidates for office must secure votes, and this requires them to speak to voters and, if they are wise, to listen to them. Once elected, they must likewise listen to the public and respond to them, if for no other reason than to seek reelection. The legislative process often requires a period for the public to provide comments on new laws and regulations, and the judicial process allows and even requires individuals to speak in court. Thus, all our foundational democratic institutions promote and facilitate the practice of rhetoric. You may experience this as a college student. Perhaps you have run for a student government position, offered public commentary on campus rules or regulations, or had to testify when a wrongdoing occurred. If so, you know the prominent role rhetoric plays in these democratic processes.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Second, democracy encourages rhetoric because a fundamental feature of all democratic societies is the right of the people to gather peacefully and to protest. In other words, democracy allows the public expression of dissent and dissatisfaction. Democracy even requires such open disagreement and debate to make the public aware of pressing issues, help them understand how problems may differently impact groups of people, and press for solutions. You might have witnessed or participated in a public protest on your own campus.<\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n\r\n<strong>Box 1.8 Democracy Encourages Rhetoric<\/strong>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_49\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"400\"]<img class=\"wp-image-49 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image14.png\" alt=\"protesters with signs advocating for gay marriage\" width=\"400\" height=\"299\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/sushiesque\/293268842\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gay Marriage Protest<\/a> by sushiesque via Flickr, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/2.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY-NC<\/a>.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nWe saw the power of public dissent in the early twenty-first century as LGBTQIA+ activists around the globe\u00a0advocated for marriage equality. They used demonstrations, public speeches, legal action, and political campaigns. Their advocacy and protests sparked conversations, drew supporters (and critics), and ultimately contributed to the legalization of same-sex marriage in many countries. It\u2019s telling that nearly all these countries are democratic societies\u2014places that allow peaceful social protest.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Attempts to stop open, lawful dissent are antidemocratic. The most egregious examples include threatening (or actually using) physical or military force against critics. During the 1960s, for example, some governmental leaders and angry Americans attempted to squelch peaceful civil rights protests through a variety of physical means, including arrests and jail time, attack dogs, water hoses, billy clubs and knives, and even\u2014ultimately\u2014assassinations of protest leaders.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n\r\n<strong>Box 1.9 Antidemocratic Efforts to Stop Rhetoric<\/strong>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_50\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"500\"]<img class=\"wp-image-50\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image15.png\" alt=\"National Guard members in Washington, DC\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/mobili\/49970479326\/in\/photostream\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Special Forces in DC<\/a> by Mobilis in Mobili via Flicker, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY-SA<\/a>.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nIn 2020, President Donald Trump notoriously <a class=\"rId35\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/7C7Q-Y3LB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called on police and the National Guard to clear crowds who had peacefully gathered<\/a> in front of the White House to protest the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis officers.[footnote]Ben Gittleson and Jordyn Phelps, \u201cPolice Use Munitions to Forcibly Push Back Peaceful Protesters for Trump Church Visit,\u201d <em>ABC News<\/em>, June 2, 2020, https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/national-guard-troops-deployed-white-house-trump-calls\/story?id=71004151, archived at <a href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/7C7Q-Y3LB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/perma.cc\/7C7Q-Y3LB<\/a>.[\/footnote] While running again for office in 2024, Trump warned that if elected president, he would, <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><a class=\"rId36\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/HQX7-65S5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"import-url\">according to a news report<\/span><\/a><\/span>, \u201cuse the powers of the federal government to punish [his] critics and political opponents.\u201d[footnote]Joseph Nunn, \u201cTrump Wants to Use the Military Against His Enemies. Congress Must Act,\u201d <em>Slate<\/em>, November 17, 2023, https:\/\/slate.com\/news-and-politics\/2023\/11\/trump-second-term-military-nightmare-congress.html, archived at <a href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/HQX7-65S5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/perma.cc\/HQX7-65S5<\/a>. See also Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey, and Devlin Barrett, \u201cTrump and Allies Plot Revenge, Justice Department Control in a Second Term,\u201d <em>Washington Post<\/em>, November 5, 2023, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2023\/11\/05\/trump-revenge-second-term\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2023\/11\/05\/trump-revenge-second-term\/<\/a>.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Such abuses of power punish and silence people who openly and lawfully express disagreement. In this way, they weaken democracy and the power of the people. They concentrate power, instead, in the hands of a few political, military, or law enforcement leaders. Such actions are antidemocratic because democracy encourages and protects public expressions of dissent.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image16.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"132.666666666667px\" height=\"132.666666666667px\" \/>Third, and finally, democracy reinforces rhetoric because election victories are typically achieved by skilled advocacy. You might reflect on how rhetorical abilities may have played a role in students\u2019 ability on your campus to assume leadership roles. Perhaps you are reading this book because you want to improve your advocacy skills. We are referring to the ability not to produce the loudest voice but rather to develop the most persuasive message. As we argue in later chapters, persuasive rhetoric should, ideally, be based on thorough and accurate research, organized in a clear and compelling manner, and adapted to the audience and situation.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">In sum, rhetoric and democracy exist in a powerful, synergistic relationship. Each feeds and stimulates the other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h1 class=\"import-ah\">Rhetoric as Civic Engagement<\/h1>\r\n<p class=\"import-paft\">Participants in a democratic society engage through rhetoric, and they do so in a variety of ways. In this last section, we return to Greta Thunberg as an example of how a young adult\u2019s use of multiple types of rhetoric began as local civic engagement but grew into an international effort.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"import-bh\"><em>Civic Rhetoric at the Local Level<\/em><\/h2>\r\n<p class=\"import-paft\">As we explained previously, Thunberg was just fifteen years old in 2018 when she began skipping school on Fridays to protest Sweden\u2019s inaction against climate change. She learned about the devastations of climate change at an early age and reacted strongly. She is on the autism spectrum and has explained that it gives her a different vantage point to see our environment and the need for action.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_52\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"512\"]<img class=\"wp-image-52 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image17.png\" alt=\"Thunberg with a protest sign\" width=\"512\" height=\"321\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Greta_Thunberg_01.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Greta Thunberg<\/a> by Anders Hellberg via Wikimedia Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY-SA<\/a>.[\/caption]\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">From 2018 until she graduated from high school in June 2023, Thunberg peacefully sat outside the Swedish Parliament on Fridays with a protest sign. Her efforts quickly drew widespread attention from politicians who passed her on the street, sympathizers who joined what became known as Fridays for Future, and the news media who began reporting her efforts.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Thunberg\u2019s initial actions reflect what you, too, can do when you are disappointed by representatives or worried about a community problem. Like Thunberg, you can use rhetoric to initiate action through a bottom-up grassroots movement. Grassroots movements are responsive to local needs and build coalitions using the resources and talents of private individuals. These movements often raise awareness of community issues through public forums or protests, rally the community through petitions and letter-writing campaigns, and\/or form community organizations that raise funds and develop programs to address community problems.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n\r\n<strong>Box 1.10 Looking for Local Civic Engagement<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Name a recent example of a student-organized event intended to help improve your campus or local community.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Identify a recent example of local community members working together to raise awareness of nearby issues or rally members to public action.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Recall a recent example of people using social media such as Facebook, Twitter (now X), or TikTok to improve the health of the community.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Go to the website or social media feed produced by your local newspaper. Find an example of civic engagement that is highlighted in an article, such as a fundraising effort for a family that lost their home in a fire or an effort to increase funding for the local school district.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Find the website, social media feed, or podcast produced by your city or town and identify an initiative hosted by the city that engaged community members, such as a tree-planting project or a program to teach entrepreneurship to high school students.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2 class=\"import-bh\"><em>Civic Rhetoric at the Global Level<\/em><\/h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_53\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"256\"]<img class=\"wp-image-53 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image18.png\" alt=\"Thunberg speaking into a microphone\" width=\"256\" height=\"171\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Greta_Thunberg_spricht_beim_Klimastreik_vor_dem_Reichstag_-_51512796264.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Greta Thunberg<\/a> by Stefan M\u00fcller (climate stuff), via Wikimedia Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY<\/a>.[\/caption]\r\n<p class=\"import-paft\">Thunberg\u2019s efforts quickly drew national and international attention. She became a sought-after interview subject and speaker partly due to her message but also because of her plain and forceful manner of speaking to world leaders. She was invited to meet the pope and was even asked to be a featured speaker at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2018 and 2019. She has been criticized for her way of speaking and accused of being naive to the realities and energy necessities of modern life. Nonetheless, she has persisted with great effectiveness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n\r\n<strong>Box 1.11 Thunberg\u2019s Global Influence<\/strong>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_54\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"512\"]<img class=\"wp-image-54 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image19.png\" alt=\"Protesters participating in global climate strike in 2019\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:3rd_Global_Climate_Strike_Berlin_FridaysForFuture_demonstration_view_from_stage_50.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">3rd Global Climate Strike<\/a> by Leonhard Lenz via Wikimedia Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Public Domain<\/a>.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nThunberg\u2019s efforts have civically engaged people around the world. <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><a class=\"rId41\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/6EQM-2QUQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"import-url\">According to <\/span><em class=\"import-url-i\">Time Magazine<\/em><\/a><\/span>, Thunberg \u201cinspired 4 million people to join the global climate strike on September 20, 2019, in what was the largest climate demonstration in human history.\u201d[footnote]Charlotte Alter, Suyin Haynes, and Justin Worland, \u201cTime 2019 Person of the Year: Greta Thunberg,\u201d <em>Time<\/em>, March 10, 2025, https:\/\/time.com\/person-of-the-year-2019-greta-thunberg\/, archived at <a href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/6EQM-2QUQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/perma.cc\/6EQM-2QUQ<\/a>.[\/footnote] It may not be surprising, then, that she has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times (so far), and in 2019, she became the youngest person ever to win <a class=\"rId42\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/6EQM-2QUQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em class=\"import-url-i\">Time Magazine<\/em><span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><span class=\"import-url\">\u2019s Person of the Year<\/span><\/span><\/a>.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Thunberg\u2019s example demonstrates the powerful role of democratic participation. Avenues for change do exist\u2014and where they do not already exist, community-minded individuals can create them with communication skills and an understanding of how civic engagement works. Such civic communication can take many different forms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"import-bh\"><em>The Many Forms of Civic Rhetoric<\/em><\/h2>\r\n<p class=\"import-paft\">Oral communication remains a popular form of civic advocacy\u2014whether that means speaking orally at protests, political events, or during interviews. However, we can advocate through written and visual forms of rhetoric as well. You might write a letter to be printed in your campus or local newspaper or on a blog. Visually, you could tape your mouth closed to help protest against a leader\u2019s unwillingness to listen to your group\u2019s concerns, or members may all dress the same to convey solidarity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n\r\n<strong>Box 1.12 Thunberg\u2019s Written and Visual Communication<\/strong>\r\n\r\nIn addition to using oral communication, Thunberg has deployed written and visual communication for her environmental advocacy. Thunberg is the author of several books, including <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">No One Is Too <\/em><em class=\"import-i\">Small to Make a Difference<\/em><\/span> (Penguin Random House, 2019), <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">Our House Is on Fire<\/em><em class=\"import-i\">: Scenes of a Family and Planet in Crisis<\/em><\/span> (Penguin Random House, 2021), and <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">The Climate Book<\/em><\/span> (Penguin Random House, 2022).\r\n<p style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">She has also employed visual rhetoric to aid her advocacy. In 2019, for instance, she sailed from Plymouth, England, to New York City for the UN Climate Activism Summit rather than fly to highlight the high carbon footprint of flying. Her choice was visually communicated through news media coverage that tended to feature pictures of her on the sailboat. Her efforts led to a flight shame movement globally.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Of course, public speaking is not restrained to being used in person. Many leaders and social influencers have made great use of oral, visual, and written rhetoric on social media, and you can too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n\r\n<strong>Box 1.13 Thunberg\u2019s Strategic Use of Social Media<\/strong>\r\n\r\nOn July 5, 2024, a few days after six members of Mother Nature, a Cambodian environmental justice group led by young people, were sentenced to prison time, Thunberg <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><a class=\"rId43\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C9CfqM6iTnP\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"import-url\">posted a message on her Instagram account<\/span><\/a><\/span>. [footnote]Greta Thunberg (@gretathunberg), \u201cWeek 307,\u201d Instagram, July 5, 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C9CfqM6iTnP\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C9CfqM6iTnP\/<\/a>.[\/footnote]\r\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C9CfqM6iTnP\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\r\n<div style=\"padding: 16px;\">\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\r\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\r\n<div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div>\r\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\r\n<div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\r\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\r\n<div>\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\r\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\r\n<div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\r\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C9CfqM6iTnP\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Greta Thunberg (@gretathunberg)<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div><\/blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">While we primarily emphasize public speaking as oral communication in this textbook, you can also adopt visual and written rhetoric to participate in your community. Thunberg\u2019s activism is a good example of the many rhetorical means and media by which public advocacy and civic engagement can take place.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">It is our hope that through this book, you will better understand the relationship between rhetoric and democracy and will realize your great potential to improve your communities as a democratic participant. To assist with this learning, we encourage you to treat your classroom as a kind of public space. That is, in your classroom speaking, envision yourself as a public actor, not just a student giving speeches to be graded. You are a democratic participant capable of improving your professor\u2019s and fellow students\u2019 understanding of community issues and moving them to action.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Summary<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n<p class=\"import-paft\">This chapter has oriented you toward the necessity of public speaking skills for democratic participation and civic engagement. It has explained the following:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Democratic participants include all who participate in public conversations about issues in a democratic society. While legal citizenship and the ability to vote aid democratic participation, those aspects are not required to act as a democratic participant.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Civic engagement is participation in organizations, institutions, and societies with the goal of contributing to the public good.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Our definition of rhetoric has seven important characteristics: It is a civic art, involves the study and use of symbols, is ethical, makes use of verbal and nonverbal symbols, addresses public issues, is a form of power, and is situational and contingent.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Democracy began in Athens, Greece, in the late sixth century BCE, and it sparked the need for rhetoric and rhetorical education.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Rhetoric encourages democracy by being the chief means by which a community of any size is formed, by enabling participants to jointly focus their attention on particular issues, and by supplying the fundamental skills necessary for effective participation and for its protection.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Democracy encourages rhetoric because all the United States\u2019 foundational democratic institutions promote and facilitate the practice of rhetoric, a fundamental feature of all democratic societies is the right of the people to gather peacefully and to protest, and election victories are typically achieved by skilled advocacy.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Ordinary people can use rhetoric to participate both locally and globally in civic engagement.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--key-takeaways\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Key Terms<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n\r\ncivic\r\ncivic engagement\r\ndelivery\r\ndemocracy\r\ndemocratic participant\r\ninvention\r\nmemory\r\norganization\r\npublic speaking\r\nrhetor\r\nrhetoric\r\nstyle\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Review Questions<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Who qualifies as a democratic participant?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>What are the seven characteristics of rhetoric as a civic art?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>What are three ways rhetoric encourages democracy? What are three ways democracy encourages rhetoric?<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Discussion Questions<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Where do you currently see examples of how rhetoric and democracy are influencing each other in a positive or negative way?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>What is a recent example of how social media are being used for democratic participation?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>What opportunities exist where you could engage in public projects and initiatives to improve your community?<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox textbox--learning-objectives\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Chapter Objectives<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<p class=\"import-pf\">Students will:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify and explain seven characteristics of rhetoric as a civic art.<\/li>\n<li>Describe the origins of democracy and its reliance on rhetoric.<\/li>\n<li>Identify the ways rhetoric and democracy reinforce each other.<\/li>\n<li>Demonstrate how ordinary people use rhetoric to engage their communities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>At the age of fifteen, Swedish teenager <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><a class=\"rId17\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/PF98-H3AV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"import-url\">Greta Thunberg<\/span><\/a><\/span> grew very concerned about climate change. Many kids her age shared this concern, but Thunberg acted on it. In August 2018, she began skipping school each Friday to protest outside the Swedish Parliament building and elsewhere. She advocated for politicians to take action and stop the environment\u2019s degradation. She became, in these actions, a democratic participant.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">School strike week 28. In Hamburg with <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Luisamneubauer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@Luisamneubauer<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/climatestrike?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#climatestrike<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/fridaysforfuture?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fridaysforfuture<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/schoolstrike4climate?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#schoolstrike4climate<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XhE3WtVS5D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/XhE3WtVS5D<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GretaThunberg\/status\/1101440326932279299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">March 1, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Does it seem strange to call a fifteen-year-old a democratic participant? You may think the label only applies to people who can vote and to elected leaders or government officials. However, <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><strong class=\"import-b\">democratic participants<\/strong><\/span> include all those who participate in public conversations about issues in a democratic society. Opportunities to speak in such conversations occur in local, regional, national, and even international organizations and networks where people work together for positive change. Perhaps you are already involved in such a group on your campus or in your community: a service organization like Habitat for Humanity, an affinity group such as a Latino cultural association, or a team of debaters or deliberation facilitators who help people think or talk through tough public issues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">You do not need to be a legal citizen to be a democratic participant. While you must be a US citizen to <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">vote<\/em><\/span> in elections, citizenship is not required to engage in public communication and community building. For this reason, unless we are talking specifically about voting in political elections, in this book we use \u201cdemocratic participants\u201d and \u201ccommunity members\u201d when we refer to democratic participation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">This chapter explores democratic participation more fully by considering rhetoric and its relationship to democracy. It begins with a definition of rhetoric as a civic art with seven important characteristics. We then turn to an explanation of the historical relationship between rhetoric and democracy with a particular emphasis on the beginnings of democracy in ancient Greece. The chapter next describes how rhetoric and democracy are mutually reinforcing and ends by returning to Thunberg as an example of civic engagement and democratic participation.<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"import-ah\">Rhetoric as a Civic Art<\/h1>\n<p class=\"import-paft\">Teachers and scholars have often associated rhetoric with persuasion, but with mixed characterizations. While some have positively associated the term with rich thought and expression, others have negatively equated rhetoric with hollow talk. Both versions can be considered rhetoric.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<p><strong>Box 1.1 Rhetoric\u2019s Rich Heritage<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37\" style=\"width: 297px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img class=\"wp-image-37\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image2.png\" alt=\"Two circular arrows form a cycle between 'Public Speaking' and 'Democracy', each enclosed in a circle. Between them, a statement reads: 'The more we practice public speaking, the more vibrant our democracy becomes.'\" width=\"297\" height=\"301\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image2.png 387w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image2-295x300.png 295w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image2-65x66.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image2-225x228.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image2-350x355.png 350w\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-37\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/picryl.com\/media\/hortus-deliciarum-philosophy-and-the-seven-liberal-arts-cropped-031b13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hortus Deliciarum, Philosophy and the Seven Liberal Arts<\/a> via Wikimedia Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/public-domain\/pdm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Public Domain<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>During the Middle Ages and Renaissance in Western higher education, rhetoric was one of the seven traditional liberal arts, which included the trivium (i.e., grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and the quadrivium (i.e., arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">In this book, we offer a definition of rhetoric that sets a high standard for public communication in society. We define <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><strong class=\"import-b\">rhetoric<\/strong><\/span> as a civic art devoted to the ethical study and use of symbols (verbal and nonverbal) to address public issues. Because rhetoric is such a rich concept, our definition deserves an extended explanation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\"><img class=\"alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image3.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"140.4px\" height=\"140.4px\" \/>First, rhetoric is a <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">civic art<\/em><\/span> that is produced and studied for the good of society. We use <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><strong class=\"import-b\">civic<\/strong><\/span> in a manner reminiscent of its Latin origin (<span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">civicus<\/em><\/span>): matters that relate to the city or citizens. Since we recognize that democratic participants need not be citizens, we use \u201ccivic\u201d in this book to emphasize matters that relate to public life. <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><strong class=\"import-b\">Civic engagement<\/strong><\/span> refers to participation in community organizations, institutions, and groups with the goal of contributing to the public good. Rhetoric, then, is our chief tool to participate in public life and improve our communities. We characterize rhetoric as a civic <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">art<\/em><\/span> because it encourages and requires individual expression, interpretation, and style. Such artistry requires speakers to study and practice rhetoric, which is the next characteristic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Second, rhetoric entails both the study and use of symbols, which we refer to as <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">rhetorical theory and practice<\/em><\/span>. That is, rhetoric includes training (practice) in the use of symbols, such as speechmaking. It also involves studying the symbols produced by others. These studies draw on and help create theories about how rhetoric functions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image4.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"130px\" height=\"130px\" \/>Third, both the study and use of rhetoric are <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">ethical<\/em><\/span> practices because they are grounded in moral principles, based on reason, and attached to rigorous standards of evaluation. This suggests that rhetoric is actively (or consciously) produced and that the ethical (or unethical) nature of the motives, choices, and effects of a speaker or analyst is important.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Fourth, rhetoric includes <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">verbal and<\/em><\/span> <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">nonverbal symbols<\/em><\/span>. Verbal symbols are the words we write, speak, and study. Nonverbal symbols include visual images and audio sounds. All symbols can be powerful in democratic discourse. For example, consider how images of war and destruction, sounds of gunfire and chaotic yelling, and words calling for public support can move audiences.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">A fifth characteristic of rhetoric is that it is typically used to <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">address public issues<\/em><\/span>. The emphasis here is on the audiences who are addressed or spoken to about public issues. In other words, rhetoric is produced for public audiences. While the <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><strong class=\"import-b\">rhetor<\/strong><\/span>, or the one who speaks publicly, is important, the listener or reader\u2014that is, the audience\u2014also plays a crucial role. The audience interprets, evaluates, responds to, and acts on\u2014or resists\u2014a rhetor\u2019s public discourse. Consequently, meaning is ultimately negotiated between a rhetor and an audience.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\"><img class=\"alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image5.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"120px\" height=\"120px\" \/>This relationship between the rhetor and an audience leads to a sixth characteristic of rhetoric: Rhetoric is a <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">form of power<\/em><\/span>. Rhetoric can be a means of control that encourages action or limits an audience\u2019s options, sometimes without us even being aware of this effect. In a most basic example, consider how a parent gets their young child to do and not do many things simply with words. Then consider the power of the words in documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. As those documents suggest, rhetoric has the power to liberate from domination.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<p><strong>Box 1.2 Rhetoric as a Form of Power<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image6.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"128.666666666667px\" height=\"128.666666666667px\" \/>An example of rhetoric as a form of power can be found in Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s powerful refrain <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><a class=\"rId23\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/6FG5-LUBU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"import-url\">\u201cI have a dream\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/span> from the speech he delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. That repeated phrase carried the vision and essence of the American civil rights movement to resist oppressive, racist beliefs and policies and to empower people of color to live in equality with white Americans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Rhetoric has the ability\u2014the power\u2014to put ideas before the eyes and in the minds of audiences and to move audiences through language, sound, and imagery. At the same time, audiences can accept, alter, or resist those efforts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\"><img class=\"alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image7.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"118.733333333333px\" height=\"118.733333333333px\" \/>Seventh, and finally, rhetoric is <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">situational and contingent<\/em><\/span>. Rhetoric operates in specific contexts and situations to address problems that are of a probabilistic and contingent nature. Rather than dealing with truth claims that are verified through formal logic or scientific demonstration, rhetoric addresses contingent matters that are uncertain, open to multiple possibilities, and dependent on many variables. Reasonable people are likely to disagree on how to best address specific community issues. While it is generally used to persuade, rhetoric can also be utilized to inform an audience. Both goals are valuable when community members need to better understand the particular situation and contingent nature of a public issue and decide on a solution.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<p><strong>Box 1.3 Seven Characteristics of Rhetoric as a Civic Art<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Rhetoric is a <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">civic art<\/em><\/span> that is produced and studied for the good of society.<\/li>\n<li>Rhetoric entails both the <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">study and use<\/em><\/span> of symbols.<\/li>\n<li>The study and use of rhetoric are <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">ethical<\/em><\/span> practices grounded in moral principles, based on reason, and attached to rigorous standards of evaluation.<\/li>\n<li>Rhetoric includes <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">verbal and nonverbal symbols<\/em><\/span>.<\/li>\n<li>Rhetoric is used to <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">address public issues<\/em><\/span> by communicating to an audience.<\/li>\n<li>Rhetoric is a <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">form of power<\/em><\/span>.<\/li>\n<li>Rhetoric is <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">contingent and situational<\/em><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Our definition focuses attention on rhetoric\u2019s use in public contexts among community members and policymakers. Thus, it specifically orients us to the practice of <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><strong class=\"import-b\">public speaking<\/strong><\/span>, which is the process of forming and delivering rhetorical content to an audience in the hopes of persuading or informing that audience. Public speech is a primary means of participation in a democratic society. We turn next to exploring the beginnings of democracy in ancient Greece and its reliance on rhetoric.<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"import-ah\">The Historical Relationship Between Rhetoric and Democracy<\/h1>\n<figure id=\"attachment_43\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-43\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img class=\"wp-image-43\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image8.png\" alt=\"A distant picture of the Greek Acropolis\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image8.png 937w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image8-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image8-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image8-65x43.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image8-225x150.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image8-350x233.png 350w\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-43\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldhistory.org\/image\/430\/athens-acropolis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Athens Acropolis<\/a> by Mark Cartwright via Worldhistory.org, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY-NC-SA<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"import-paft\">From its beginning, democracy was conducted in and through rhetoric. In the West, this relationship began in Athens, Greece, in the late sixth century BCE. Imagine an Athenian male during that time. Unlike their ancestors, who lived in a society structured by a noble class, they are an active participant in the governmental functioning of their city-state. They can speak about the important issues of the day with their fellow citizens not only informally but also formally in the Assembly meetings\u2014regular gatherings of Athenian citizens who discussed and voted on the important public issues of the day. During their lifetime, they are likely to serve in one or more governmental positions as a magistrate and to serve regularly as a juror.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">This expression of democracy was revolutionary. Indeed, it is hard to exaggerate the importance of these advances, as participation was shared much more widely than ever before in Western history.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<p><strong>Box 1.4 Democratic Participation in the Athenian Assembly<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a closer look at the Athenian Assembly to understand how the power to participate was shared. <span style=\"text-align: initial; font-size: 1em;\">The Athenian Assembly met forty times each year on the Pnyx Hill in Athens, Greece. Attendance ranged from three thousand to six thousand citizens. The Pnyx represented the political center of the city-state, in contrast to the Agora marketplace (the social and legal center) and the Acropolis (the religious center with the Parthenon, Erechtheion, and other sacred and ceremonial buildings), which both sat adjacent to the Pnyx. These three\u2014Pnyx, Agora, Acropolis\u2014formed a physical and visual triangle.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_44\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-44\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img class=\"wp-image-44\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image9.png\" alt=\"A picture of the speaker's platform on Pnyx Hill\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image9.png 600w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image9-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image9-65x49.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image9-225x169.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image9-350x263.png 350w\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-44\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/14824807@N00\/4695990765\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Speaker&#8217;s Platform, Pnyx Hill, Athens<\/a> by Larry via Flickr, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Assembly meetings began from the speaker\u2019s platform located on the Pnyx. The presiding officer sacrificed a pig and prayed to the gods. A proposal was then announced, and the presiding officer asked, \u201cWho wishes to speak?\u201d Any topic could be raised during the Assembly meetings, but the majority of topics were set in an agenda constructed by a smaller council. Anyone could speak two times on a single issue, and there was no formal time limit. There were means for keeping long-winded speakers in check, however, such as heckling and, in more extreme cases, shouting the person down. These meetings were often quite boisterous and emotionally expressive. When the moment seemed right, the presiding officer called for a vote. As such, the participants in this democracy had the opportunity to fully engage in listening, speaking, and voting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Of course, ancient Athenian democracy was far from perfect. It excluded women, foreign-born males, and slaves. In addition, critics such as Plato, Isocrates, Thucydides, and Aristophanes critiqued the Athenian democratic experiment toward the end of its prominence, in the late fifth and early fourth centuries. They consistently characterized Assembly members as at times easy to manipulate, gullible, distracted, and lacking in motivation for the task of self-governance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Two-and-a-half millennia later, many of these critiques persist. Some in the United States worry that the majority of democratic participants lack the ability to stay informed enough to engage productively in the political process. The enormous size of the United States, with over 340 million people, also poses tremendous difficulties for participation. It is rare to experience the personal nature of Athenian democracy\u2019s face-to-face rhetorical exchanges.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Similarly, just as ancient Athenian democracy excluded women, non-Athenian males, and slaves, today critics express concern over whether all members of the public\u2014all races, ethnicities, religions, socioeconomic statuses, and other groups\u2014are fully able to participate and have their ideas heard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Yet at the same time that Plato and others critiqued democracy, some teachers pointed to exciting ways that rhetorical education could improve democratic engagement.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"import-bh\"><em>Rhetorical Education<\/em><\/h2>\n<p class=\"import-paft\">Because it occurred through public speaking, democratic participation created the need to educate individuals in the practice. Some teachers, such as Aristotle, taught the principles of rhetoric to noble Athenian students, including Alexander the Great. The early sophists, like Protagoras, Gorgias, and Isocrates, however, violated tradition by teaching a range of subjects, including rhetoric, to anyone for a fee. Their new educational model helped shift the city-state of Athens away from a nobility structure and toward broader democratic participation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<p><strong>Box 1.5 Ancient Rhetorical Education and Civic Engagement<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_46\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-46\" style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img class=\"wp-image-46\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image11-300x287.png\" alt=\"Bust of Isocrates\" width=\"250\" height=\"239\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image11-300x287.png 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image11-65x62.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image11-225x215.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image11.png 340w\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-46\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Afbeelding_van_Isocrates..jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Isocrates<\/a> by Student Vives TVW via Wikimedia Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY-SA<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Both Isocrates and Aristotle pointed to exciting ways a rhetorical education could improve students\u2019 democratic engagement.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Isocrates became famous for his school of rhetoric, which emphasized civic participation. It trained students to focus their rhetorical skills on addressing practical matters of the state.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_45\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-45\" style=\"width: 196px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img class=\"wp-image-45\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image10-236x300.png\" alt=\"Bust of Aristotle\" width=\"196\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image10-236x300.png 236w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image10-65x83.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image10-225x287.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image10.png 256w\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-45\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Aristotle_transparent.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Aristotle<\/a> by Alvaro Marques Hijazo via Wikimedia Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Public Domain<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Aristotle similarly taught rhetoric, alongside a wide variety of other subjects, at his school called the Lyceum. In fact, Aristotle\u2019s <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">Rhetoric<\/em><\/span> is believed to be a collection of his students\u2019 notes taken during, or in response to, his lectures.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Isocrates and Aristotle devoted much of their lives to teaching rhetoric to students, demonstrating the difficulty of the skills involved and their importance for democratic participation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt; padding-left: 40px;\">Much has changed since democracy and rhetoric began in ancient Greece. Yet when we turn to the United States, we see that rhetoric has played a similarly important role in the establishment of American democracy. Rhetoric was used among colonists in discussions and debates about the British Crown\u2019s control and eventually over their possible independence, leading to the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt; padding-left: 40px;\">Today, many US colleges and universities continue to teach public speaking skills to prepare students for effective democratic participation. In fact, as box 1.6 illustrates, many of the fundamental skills taught in public speaking courses today reflect the canons of rhetoric first described by Aristotle! The relationship between rhetoric and democracy in the US and elsewhere remains strong.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<p><strong>Box 1.6 The Canons of Rhetoric<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The basic elements of public speaking, first described by Aristotle, were put into a formal structure by Cicero in the first century BCE.<\/p>\n<p class=\"hanging-indent\"><strong class=\"import-b\">Invention<\/strong> is the process of investigation and thought that produces the content of your speech. We will explore elements of invention in chapters 5, 25, and 26.<\/p>\n<p class=\"hanging-indent\"><strong class=\"import-b\">Organization<\/strong> is how a speaker orders the points in a speech and verbally connects those elements so their audience can follow. You will learn about organization in chapters 12, 13, and 14.<\/p>\n<p class=\"hanging-indent\"><strong class=\"import-b\">Style<\/strong> is the language or expression we use\u2014the words we choose. Chapter 16 focuses on style.<\/p>\n<p class=\"hanging-indent\"><strong class=\"import-b\">Memory<\/strong> is how a speaker stores and recalls the information shared in a speech. We will cover memory in chapter 17.<\/p>\n<p class=\"hanging-indent\"><span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><strong class=\"import-b\">Delivery<\/strong><\/span> is how a speaker physically conveys words and ideas, both vocally and nonverbally, to the audience. Chapters 17 and 18 will explore delivery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h1 class=\"import-ah\">Rhetoric and Democracy Are Mutually Reinforcing<\/h1>\n<p class=\"import-paft\"><span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><strong class=\"import-b\">Democracy<\/strong><\/span> is a political system that locates control and power in the people. You may think such power resides in the ability to vote. However, rhetoric provides community members with many more ways to exercise power and control in a democracy. In fact, their voices\u2014their rhetorics\u2014are necessary to establish and maintain democracy.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"import-bh\"><em>Rhetoric Encourages Democracy<\/em><\/h2>\n<p class=\"import-paft\">Rhetoric encourages democracy in several ways: It helps form communities, focuses members\u2019 attention on shared concerns, and enables members to advocate and to think critically.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_47\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-47\" style=\"width: 334px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img class=\"wp-image-47\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image12.png\" alt=\"exterior view of the U.S. Capitol Building\" width=\"334\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image12.png 431w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image12-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image12-65x97.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image12-225x337.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image12-350x525.png 350w\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-47\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/facade-of-the-capitol-building-7016963\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facade of the Capitol Building<\/a> by Ramaz Bluashvili via Pexels, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/license\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pexels license<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">First, rhetoric encourages democracy by being the chief means by which a community of any size is formed. That is, until a group of people\u2014whether it is an organization, a town, a city, a state, or a nation\u2014communicates with one another, they do not exist as an entity in any significant way. Rhetoric is how laws and policies and governmental and nongovernmental institutions are created and revised.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Furthermore, rhetoric is the primary way a community perceives itself as such. It matters, for instance, that the <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><a class=\"rId30\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/VWW6-UXZX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"import-url\">Preamble to the <\/span><span class=\"import-url\">US<\/span><span class=\"import-url\"> Constitution<\/span><\/a><\/span> begins by labeling the American colonists as \u201cWe the People.\u201d They became a people, in part, through that rhetorical expression. You might consider how your college or university uses rhetoric to name itself <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">as<\/em><\/span> a community. Students at the Pennsylvania State University, for instance, tend to yell <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><a class=\"rId31\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/YDQ8-FFLC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"import-url\">\u201cWe are Penn State\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/span> during football games. Perhaps your college participates in similar rhetorical practices of self-naming and governance?<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Second, rhetoric encourages democracy by enabling participants to jointly focus their attention on particular issues. Every community encounters challenges and must find ways to address them. Rhetoric provides that way. Participants use rhetoric to draw attention to issues, share lived experiences, advocate for solutions, and choose pathways forward. That is, rhetoric enables the public to attend together to matters of shared concern. You might consider how groups you are part of at college or in the local community use rhetoric to talk through challenges and issues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Finally, rhetoric supports democracy by supplying the fundamental skills necessary for effective participation. These skills include both the production <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">and analysis<\/em><\/span> of messages.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\">Former president of the National Association of Teachers of Speech W. Norwood Brigance declared, \u201cEvery educated person ought to know when a thing is proved and when it is not proved, should know how to investigate and to analyse a proposition that confronts him [<span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">sic<\/em><\/span>], and how to search for a solution, how to talk about it effectively before others, and how to contribute to a discussion on problems of joint interest.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"W. Norwood Brigance, \u201c1946: Year of Decision,\u201d Quarterly Journal of Speech 33 (1947): 133.\" id=\"return-footnote-450-1\" href=\"#footnote-450-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-nocaption alignright\"><img class=\"alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image13.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"120.666666666667px\" height=\"120.666666666667px\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">To function effectively in a democracy, democratic participants must be able to assess others\u2019 communication and effectively voice their thoughts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Developing the abilities to speak well and critically analyze communication will not only aid you as an individual, but these skills will also help you protect democracy. Democratic participants who are trained in rhetoric are better able to identify, call out, and avoid unethical communication practices that threaten and weaken democracy. We will explore these practices in greater detail in later chapters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">In sum, rhetoric and democracy cannot be separated. Rhetoric is both the means by which democratic participation takes place and the content that is produced through that participation. When we shift from thinking \u201cdemocracy equals voting\u201d to appreciating that \u201cdemocracy is a system in which all the participants, the people, have the power,\u201d we see how integral rhetoric is to this process.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<p><strong>Box 1.7 Practicing Democracy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We each have multiple and recurring opportunities for civic engagement:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Speak up in class to respond to what your professor and your classmates have to say.<\/li>\n<li>Ask questions and share your ideas at public events on your campus.<\/li>\n<li>Attend the open hearings and meetings of your local school board and city council and ask questions, share your ideas, and advocate.<\/li>\n<li>Write or call your local representative, mayor, or the governor of your state about an issue or to suggest a new solution to a problem.<\/li>\n<li>Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, record a podcast, or upload a social media post and follow the responses you receive.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"import-bh\"><em>Democracy Encourages Rhetoric<\/em><\/h2>\n<p class=\"import-paft\">The relationship between rhetoric and democracy can also be seen when we consider how democracy encourages rhetoric. It does so in at least three ways: Democratic government bodies require ordinary people\u2019s participation, democracy protects people\u2019s right to publicly disagree with their government leaders, and election victories rely, in part, on rhetorical skill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">First, all three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) allow\u2014and in many cases require\u2014participation by the people. Presidential candidates for office must secure votes, and this requires them to speak to voters and, if they are wise, to listen to them. Once elected, they must likewise listen to the public and respond to them, if for no other reason than to seek reelection. The legislative process often requires a period for the public to provide comments on new laws and regulations, and the judicial process allows and even requires individuals to speak in court. Thus, all our foundational democratic institutions promote and facilitate the practice of rhetoric. You may experience this as a college student. Perhaps you have run for a student government position, offered public commentary on campus rules or regulations, or had to testify when a wrongdoing occurred. If so, you know the prominent role rhetoric plays in these democratic processes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Second, democracy encourages rhetoric because a fundamental feature of all democratic societies is the right of the people to gather peacefully and to protest. In other words, democracy allows the public expression of dissent and dissatisfaction. Democracy even requires such open disagreement and debate to make the public aware of pressing issues, help them understand how problems may differently impact groups of people, and press for solutions. You might have witnessed or participated in a public protest on your own campus.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<p><strong>Box 1.8 Democracy Encourages Rhetoric<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_49\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-49\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img class=\"wp-image-49 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image14.png\" alt=\"protesters with signs advocating for gay marriage\" width=\"400\" height=\"299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image14.png 400w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image14-300x224.png 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image14-65x49.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image14-225x168.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image14-350x262.png 350w\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-49\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/sushiesque\/293268842\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gay Marriage Protest<\/a> by sushiesque via Flickr, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/2.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY-NC<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We saw the power of public dissent in the early twenty-first century as LGBTQIA+ activists around the globe\u00a0advocated for marriage equality. They used demonstrations, public speeches, legal action, and political campaigns. Their advocacy and protests sparked conversations, drew supporters (and critics), and ultimately contributed to the legalization of same-sex marriage in many countries. It\u2019s telling that nearly all these countries are democratic societies\u2014places that allow peaceful social protest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Attempts to stop open, lawful dissent are antidemocratic. The most egregious examples include threatening (or actually using) physical or military force against critics. During the 1960s, for example, some governmental leaders and angry Americans attempted to squelch peaceful civil rights protests through a variety of physical means, including arrests and jail time, attack dogs, water hoses, billy clubs and knives, and even\u2014ultimately\u2014assassinations of protest leaders.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<p><strong>Box 1.9 Antidemocratic Efforts to Stop Rhetoric<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_50\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img class=\"wp-image-50\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image15.png\" alt=\"National Guard members in Washington, DC\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image15.png 800w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image15-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image15-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image15-65x37.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image15-225x127.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image15-350x197.png 350w\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-50\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/mobili\/49970479326\/in\/photostream\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Special Forces in DC<\/a> by Mobilis in Mobili via Flicker, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY-SA<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 2020, President Donald Trump notoriously <a class=\"rId35\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/7C7Q-Y3LB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called on police and the National Guard to clear crowds who had peacefully gathered<\/a> in front of the White House to protest the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis officers.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Ben Gittleson and Jordyn Phelps, \u201cPolice Use Munitions to Forcibly Push Back Peaceful Protesters for Trump Church Visit,\u201d ABC News, June 2, 2020, https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/national-guard-troops-deployed-white-house-trump-calls\/story?id=71004151, archived at https:\/\/perma.cc\/7C7Q-Y3LB.\" id=\"return-footnote-450-2\" href=\"#footnote-450-2\" aria-label=\"Footnote 2\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[2]<\/sup><\/a> While running again for office in 2024, Trump warned that if elected president, he would, <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><a class=\"rId36\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/HQX7-65S5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"import-url\">according to a news report<\/span><\/a><\/span>, \u201cuse the powers of the federal government to punish [his] critics and political opponents.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Joseph Nunn, \u201cTrump Wants to Use the Military Against His Enemies. Congress Must Act,\u201d Slate, November 17, 2023, https:\/\/slate.com\/news-and-politics\/2023\/11\/trump-second-term-military-nightmare-congress.html, archived at https:\/\/perma.cc\/HQX7-65S5. See also Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey, and Devlin Barrett, \u201cTrump and Allies Plot Revenge, Justice Department Control in a Second Term,\u201d Washington Post, November 5, 2023, https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2023\/11\/05\/trump-revenge-second-term\/.\" id=\"return-footnote-450-3\" href=\"#footnote-450-3\" aria-label=\"Footnote 3\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Such abuses of power punish and silence people who openly and lawfully express disagreement. In this way, they weaken democracy and the power of the people. They concentrate power, instead, in the hands of a few political, military, or law enforcement leaders. Such actions are antidemocratic because democracy encourages and protects public expressions of dissent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image16.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"132.666666666667px\" height=\"132.666666666667px\" \/>Third, and finally, democracy reinforces rhetoric because election victories are typically achieved by skilled advocacy. You might reflect on how rhetorical abilities may have played a role in students\u2019 ability on your campus to assume leadership roles. Perhaps you are reading this book because you want to improve your advocacy skills. We are referring to the ability not to produce the loudest voice but rather to develop the most persuasive message. As we argue in later chapters, persuasive rhetoric should, ideally, be based on thorough and accurate research, organized in a clear and compelling manner, and adapted to the audience and situation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">In sum, rhetoric and democracy exist in a powerful, synergistic relationship. Each feeds and stimulates the other.<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"import-ah\">Rhetoric as Civic Engagement<\/h1>\n<p class=\"import-paft\">Participants in a democratic society engage through rhetoric, and they do so in a variety of ways. In this last section, we return to Greta Thunberg as an example of how a young adult\u2019s use of multiple types of rhetoric began as local civic engagement but grew into an international effort.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"import-bh\"><em>Civic Rhetoric at the Local Level<\/em><\/h2>\n<p class=\"import-paft\">As we explained previously, Thunberg was just fifteen years old in 2018 when she began skipping school on Fridays to protest Sweden\u2019s inaction against climate change. She learned about the devastations of climate change at an early age and reacted strongly. She is on the autism spectrum and has explained that it gives her a different vantage point to see our environment and the need for action.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_52\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-52\" style=\"width: 512px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img class=\"wp-image-52 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image17.png\" alt=\"Thunberg with a protest sign\" width=\"512\" height=\"321\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image17.png 512w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image17-300x188.png 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image17-65x41.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image17-225x141.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image17-350x219.png 350w\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-52\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Greta_Thunberg_01.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Greta Thunberg<\/a> by Anders Hellberg via Wikimedia Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY-SA<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">From 2018 until she graduated from high school in June 2023, Thunberg peacefully sat outside the Swedish Parliament on Fridays with a protest sign. Her efforts quickly drew widespread attention from politicians who passed her on the street, sympathizers who joined what became known as Fridays for Future, and the news media who began reporting her efforts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Thunberg\u2019s initial actions reflect what you, too, can do when you are disappointed by representatives or worried about a community problem. Like Thunberg, you can use rhetoric to initiate action through a bottom-up grassroots movement. Grassroots movements are responsive to local needs and build coalitions using the resources and talents of private individuals. These movements often raise awareness of community issues through public forums or protests, rally the community through petitions and letter-writing campaigns, and\/or form community organizations that raise funds and develop programs to address community problems.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<p><strong>Box 1.10 Looking for Local Civic Engagement<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Name a recent example of a student-organized event intended to help improve your campus or local community.<\/li>\n<li>Identify a recent example of local community members working together to raise awareness of nearby issues or rally members to public action.<\/li>\n<li>Recall a recent example of people using social media such as Facebook, Twitter (now X), or TikTok to improve the health of the community.<\/li>\n<li>Go to the website or social media feed produced by your local newspaper. Find an example of civic engagement that is highlighted in an article, such as a fundraising effort for a family that lost their home in a fire or an effort to increase funding for the local school district.<\/li>\n<li>Find the website, social media feed, or podcast produced by your city or town and identify an initiative hosted by the city that engaged community members, such as a tree-planting project or a program to teach entrepreneurship to high school students.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"import-bh\"><em>Civic Rhetoric at the Global Level<\/em><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_53\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-53\" style=\"width: 256px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img class=\"wp-image-53 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image18.png\" alt=\"Thunberg speaking into a microphone\" width=\"256\" height=\"171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image18.png 256w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image18-65x43.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image18-225x150.png 225w\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-53\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Greta_Thunberg_spricht_beim_Klimastreik_vor_dem_Reichstag_-_51512796264.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Greta Thunberg<\/a> by Stefan M\u00fcller (climate stuff), via Wikimedia Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"import-paft\">Thunberg\u2019s efforts quickly drew national and international attention. She became a sought-after interview subject and speaker partly due to her message but also because of her plain and forceful manner of speaking to world leaders. She was invited to meet the pope and was even asked to be a featured speaker at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2018 and 2019. She has been criticized for her way of speaking and accused of being naive to the realities and energy necessities of modern life. Nonetheless, she has persisted with great effectiveness.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<p><strong>Box 1.11 Thunberg\u2019s Global Influence<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_54\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-54\" style=\"width: 512px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img class=\"wp-image-54 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image19.png\" alt=\"Protesters participating in global climate strike in 2019\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image19.png 512w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image19-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image19-65x49.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image19-225x169.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2025\/05\/image19-350x263.png 350w\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-54\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:3rd_Global_Climate_Strike_Berlin_FridaysForFuture_demonstration_view_from_stage_50.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">3rd Global Climate Strike<\/a> by Leonhard Lenz via Wikimedia Commons, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Public Domain<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Thunberg\u2019s efforts have civically engaged people around the world. <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><a class=\"rId41\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/6EQM-2QUQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"import-url\">According to <\/span><em class=\"import-url-i\">Time Magazine<\/em><\/a><\/span>, Thunberg \u201cinspired 4 million people to join the global climate strike on September 20, 2019, in what was the largest climate demonstration in human history.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Charlotte Alter, Suyin Haynes, and Justin Worland, \u201cTime 2019 Person of the Year: Greta Thunberg,\u201d Time, March 10, 2025, https:\/\/time.com\/person-of-the-year-2019-greta-thunberg\/, archived at https:\/\/perma.cc\/6EQM-2QUQ.\" id=\"return-footnote-450-4\" href=\"#footnote-450-4\" aria-label=\"Footnote 4\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[4]<\/sup><\/a> It may not be surprising, then, that she has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times (so far), and in 2019, she became the youngest person ever to win <a class=\"rId42\" href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/6EQM-2QUQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em class=\"import-url-i\">Time Magazine<\/em><span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><span class=\"import-url\">\u2019s Person of the Year<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Thunberg\u2019s example demonstrates the powerful role of democratic participation. Avenues for change do exist\u2014and where they do not already exist, community-minded individuals can create them with communication skills and an understanding of how civic engagement works. Such civic communication can take many different forms.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"import-bh\"><em>The Many Forms of Civic Rhetoric<\/em><\/h2>\n<p class=\"import-paft\">Oral communication remains a popular form of civic advocacy\u2014whether that means speaking orally at protests, political events, or during interviews. However, we can advocate through written and visual forms of rhetoric as well. You might write a letter to be printed in your campus or local newspaper or on a blog. Visually, you could tape your mouth closed to help protest against a leader\u2019s unwillingness to listen to your group\u2019s concerns, or members may all dress the same to convey solidarity.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<p><strong>Box 1.12 Thunberg\u2019s Written and Visual Communication<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In addition to using oral communication, Thunberg has deployed written and visual communication for her environmental advocacy. Thunberg is the author of several books, including <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">No One Is Too <\/em><em class=\"import-i\">Small to Make a Difference<\/em><\/span> (Penguin Random House, 2019), <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">Our House Is on Fire<\/em><em class=\"import-i\">: Scenes of a Family and Planet in Crisis<\/em><\/span> (Penguin Random House, 2021), and <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><em class=\"import-i\">The Climate Book<\/em><\/span> (Penguin Random House, 2022).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">She has also employed visual rhetoric to aid her advocacy. In 2019, for instance, she sailed from Plymouth, England, to New York City for the UN Climate Activism Summit rather than fly to highlight the high carbon footprint of flying. Her choice was visually communicated through news media coverage that tended to feature pictures of her on the sailboat. Her efforts led to a flight shame movement globally.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">Of course, public speaking is not restrained to being used in person. Many leaders and social influencers have made great use of oral, visual, and written rhetoric on social media, and you can too.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<p><strong>Box 1.13 Thunberg\u2019s Strategic Use of Social Media<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On July 5, 2024, a few days after six members of Mother Nature, a Cambodian environmental justice group led by young people, were sentenced to prison time, Thunberg <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0;\"><a class=\"rId43\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C9CfqM6iTnP\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"import-url\">posted a message on her Instagram account<\/span><\/a><\/span>. <a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Greta Thunberg (@gretathunberg), \u201cWeek 307,\u201d Instagram, July 5, 2024, https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C9CfqM6iTnP\/.\" id=\"return-footnote-450-5\" href=\"#footnote-450-5\" aria-label=\"Footnote 5\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C9CfqM6iTnP\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<div style=\"padding: 16px;\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C9CfqM6iTnP\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Greta Thunberg (@gretathunberg)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">While we primarily emphasize public speaking as oral communication in this textbook, you can also adopt visual and written rhetoric to participate in your community. Thunberg\u2019s activism is a good example of the many rhetorical means and media by which public advocacy and civic engagement can take place.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p0\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt;\">It is our hope that through this book, you will better understand the relationship between rhetoric and democracy and will realize your great potential to improve your communities as a democratic participant. To assist with this learning, we encourage you to treat your classroom as a kind of public space. That is, in your classroom speaking, envision yourself as a public actor, not just a student giving speeches to be graded. You are a democratic participant capable of improving your professor\u2019s and fellow students\u2019 understanding of community issues and moving them to action.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Summary<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<p class=\"import-paft\">This chapter has oriented you toward the necessity of public speaking skills for democratic participation and civic engagement. It has explained the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Democratic participants include all who participate in public conversations about issues in a democratic society. While legal citizenship and the ability to vote aid democratic participation, those aspects are not required to act as a democratic participant.<\/li>\n<li>Civic engagement is participation in organizations, institutions, and societies with the goal of contributing to the public good.<\/li>\n<li>Our definition of rhetoric has seven important characteristics: It is a civic art, involves the study and use of symbols, is ethical, makes use of verbal and nonverbal symbols, addresses public issues, is a form of power, and is situational and contingent.<\/li>\n<li>Democracy began in Athens, Greece, in the late sixth century BCE, and it sparked the need for rhetoric and rhetorical education.<\/li>\n<li>Rhetoric encourages democracy by being the chief means by which a community of any size is formed, by enabling participants to jointly focus their attention on particular issues, and by supplying the fundamental skills necessary for effective participation and for its protection.<\/li>\n<li>Democracy encourages rhetoric because all the United States\u2019 foundational democratic institutions promote and facilitate the practice of rhetoric, a fundamental feature of all democratic societies is the right of the people to gather peacefully and to protest, and election victories are typically achieved by skilled advocacy.<\/li>\n<li>Ordinary people can use rhetoric to participate both locally and globally in civic engagement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--key-takeaways\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Key Terms<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<p>civic<br \/>\ncivic engagement<br \/>\ndelivery<br \/>\ndemocracy<br \/>\ndemocratic participant<br \/>\ninvention<br \/>\nmemory<br \/>\norganization<br \/>\npublic speaking<br \/>\nrhetor<br \/>\nrhetoric<br \/>\nstyle<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Review Questions<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<ol>\n<li>Who qualifies as a democratic participant?<\/li>\n<li>What are the seven characteristics of rhetoric as a civic art?<\/li>\n<li>What are three ways rhetoric encourages democracy? What are three ways democracy encourages rhetoric?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Discussion Questions<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<ol>\n<li>Where do you currently see examples of how rhetoric and democracy are influencing each other in a positive or negative way?<\/li>\n<li>What is a recent example of how social media are being used for democratic participation?<\/li>\n<li>What opportunities exist where you could engage in public projects and initiatives to improve your community?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-450-1\">W. Norwood Brigance, \u201c1946: Year of Decision,\u201d <em>Quarterly Journal of Speech<\/em> 33 (1947): 133. <a href=\"#return-footnote-450-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-450-2\">Ben Gittleson and Jordyn Phelps, \u201cPolice Use Munitions to Forcibly Push Back Peaceful Protesters for Trump Church Visit,\u201d <em>ABC News<\/em>, June 2, 2020, https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/national-guard-troops-deployed-white-house-trump-calls\/story?id=71004151, archived at <a href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/7C7Q-Y3LB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/perma.cc\/7C7Q-Y3LB<\/a>. <a href=\"#return-footnote-450-2\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-450-3\">Joseph Nunn, \u201cTrump Wants to Use the Military Against His Enemies. Congress Must Act,\u201d <em>Slate<\/em>, November 17, 2023, https:\/\/slate.com\/news-and-politics\/2023\/11\/trump-second-term-military-nightmare-congress.html, archived at <a href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/HQX7-65S5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/perma.cc\/HQX7-65S5<\/a>. See also Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey, and Devlin Barrett, \u201cTrump and Allies Plot Revenge, Justice Department Control in a Second Term,\u201d <em>Washington Post<\/em>, November 5, 2023, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2023\/11\/05\/trump-revenge-second-term\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2023\/11\/05\/trump-revenge-second-term\/<\/a>. <a href=\"#return-footnote-450-3\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 3\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-450-4\">Charlotte Alter, Suyin Haynes, and Justin Worland, \u201cTime 2019 Person of the Year: Greta Thunberg,\u201d <em>Time<\/em>, March 10, 2025, https:\/\/time.com\/person-of-the-year-2019-greta-thunberg\/, archived at <a href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/6EQM-2QUQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/perma.cc\/6EQM-2QUQ<\/a>. <a href=\"#return-footnote-450-4\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 4\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-450-5\">Greta Thunberg (@gretathunberg), \u201cWeek 307,\u201d Instagram, July 5, 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C9CfqM6iTnP\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C9CfqM6iTnP\/<\/a>. <a href=\"#return-footnote-450-5\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 5\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":3,"menu_order":1,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/450"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"version-history":[{"count":99,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3211,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/450\/revisions\/3211"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/450\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=450"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=450"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/publicspeakinganddemocraticparticipation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}