Response #5

Ethical proofs are explored in Chapter 6 of ARCS, and the point that I'd like to focus on is the notion of the rhetorician "securing goodwill". My feelings on the subject are mixed because while it is certainly important that the rhetorician be conscious of the way that he or she presents themselves to the audience, it seems almost underhanded. The rhetorician is not showing their true selves, but a persona they believe will evoke a desired response from the audience. In other words, like the speech itself, the character of the speaker is yet another aspect to prepare- rarely impromptu and hardly an organic representation.

To clarify on this further, I say that personally I don't like taking things at face value so I am generally mistrustful of public speakers. There is always their personal incentive to consider: why are they giving the speech, what do they have to gain from speaker, who truly benefits, etc. In the case of politicians, I feel they are usually speaking to meet their own ends first and foremost. Of course, the speaker may truly be genuine in their motives and speech, but even in these cases I feel there is careful consideration taken in assuming the correct persona. Even the chapter's title of the section "securing goodwill" implies that goodwill is something to be taken and held firmly.

I realize that establishing credibility is a necessary part of rhetoric, but I guess I struggle with the fact that the rhetorician is separate from the persona assumed for a given speech. They are not presenting their true selves and it is highly probable that the persona was either an exaggeration or almost entirely fictional. As ARCS states in reference to establishing goodwill by obviously demonstrating care toward the audience, "Of course, this ploy works only if audiences do not suspect ulterior motives on a rhetor's part" (p. 212). The word "ploy" is completely appropriate for the subject matter. There is just something that strikes me as completely phony about clear attempts to pull at the audience's heartstrings, a theme that is highly prevalent in advertising, coming in the form of crying puppies, tender moments with loves ones, and babies- all of them serving as tactics intended to sell a product.