Building on the Three Pillars

¶ … building on the three pillars of persuasion: logos, ethos and pathos. The logos component of the article draws a logical connection between the antecedent of American democracy, the threat represented and the implications that the threat poses to the antecedents of American democracy. The ethos of this article is represented in phrases that appeal to the reader's sense of justice, for example implying that the status quo will lead to unethical acts on the part of elected representatives, and in the final paragraph "They are right." The pathos part of the article asks the reader to become offended by the current state of events, and argues that action is required now, appealing to the emotional need to become motivated about this issue.

In general, the structure and flow of this essay follows the Toulmin model. The Toulmin model posits that an argument should have a claim, grounds, warrant, backing, qualifier, and rebuttal. In this case, the claim is made and the recent election was cited as grounds in support of the claim. Backing is conducted in the body, highlighting the Supreme Court decision and the theories about how this decision is going to play out in the long-run. There is little in the way of qualification, as this would undermine the strength of the persuasion in this case. There is rebuttal, however. The writer all but admits there will be some resistance to his or her proposal, and offers a counter argument appealing to the ethos of those who he or she expects to make the objection.

The argument makes significant use of cause-and-effect reasoning in order to appeal to the logos and ethos of the reader. The Supreme Court decision is at the root of the problem for the author, but the points made in support of addressing this decision at the political level are cause-and-effect points to show how that decision with regards to campaign financing may potentially undermine American democracy. This is also an example of deductive reasoning in that a general problem is then refined into specific problems that are used as illustrations to help convince the reader.

The tone of the argument is generally constructive. While the author implies a clear conflict -- in this situation the basic class warfare argument -- the author proposes constructive resolutions to the issue, such as the passage of new laws governing campaign finance. Because the call to action is aimed at all parties, there is little in the way of disruptive tone, save for disruption to the status quo, which is argued to be a threat.

There is also an element of group and cultural influence in the argument. The author takes care to otherize the threat as being that of "foreign" influence, a clear device used to galvanize those in support of the author's proposals as American. This stretch of the truth -- the vast majority of campaign financing comes from American sources -- is used specifically to invoke America's culture of independence from foreign influence and to galvanize the group as Americans taking a stand against the threat of foreign influence. By enlarging the group, the author seeks to break down the internal barriers on what is to some extent a partisan issue. This in part serves to bolster the confidence of those who share the author's view and encourage those who may be undecided that it is acceptable to change their minds and side with the author on this issue.