SWA #2

John Mohrmann
English 101,056
August 30, 2007
Short Writing Assignment #2
In “Is Persuasion Dead?” Matt Miller questions whether America as a whole is still open to suggestions. Miller first presents the question of the possibility of convincing someone of something they do not already believe to be true. The author makes a wonderful point of the fact that ninety percent of political “debates” today turn into dead-locked arguments. This does not do any good because, this only appeals to their supporters. Miller puts forth that, in politics, persuasion is dead. Miller sees politics as having become all about money, fame, etc. In conclusion, Miller gives a good rousing go-get-them charge.
The body of Miller’s article starts in with a lot of questions about persuasion in America, and some personal reflections. Miller then moves on to showing that the signals for persuasion are not looking good. He feels that most people are stuck down in their personal, political ruts. The author paints a mental picture of politics being little groups of troublesome gnomes. I feel that Miller is coming from to extreme of a Democrat view of the political world. For instance, he says nothing about politicians today who are doing good. Take, for example, John McCain. He may not be liberal enough for Mr. Miller, but this does not make him evil.
Miller does make a good point in stating that politicians have realized that don’t need to change minds to get votes. This can be clearly seen in a political campaign today. Any ad you watch is not concerned with actually imparting information, but bolstering the politician’s platform. I feel the author made a very good point on the topic. Miller makes another good point about human error in persuasion. He shows, using Ken Pollack’s book, how someone very convincing can also be very wrong. This is another severe problem in America. There are too many people who allow themselves to be spoon fed information. The author’s ideology is to think things through, even if they fail in the end. I believe this is an extremely sound practice for today’s world. Miller’s article, though at times whiney, makes several sound points about the state of good persuasion in America. To fully solve this issue, Americans most learn how to logically form their opinions and argue the articulately.