Logical Fallacy of the Common American Citizen

Further analyzing Steve Duin's article, I believe there is a general logical fallacy he addresses that the nation has built up - that we as a country are becoming "socialist." Obama was elected as the democratic candidate. He certainly has begun to alter the administration so that the central government has gained much power through several of his programs such as Health Care. But ideas are thrown out that because of Obama's actions, our nation is becoming socialist. As Duin says, we have developed a sense of skeptism towards the way our governemnt is run and we have turned a simple word such as community into a much scarier princple of socialism: "in the movement to turn "community" into a shameful code word for socialism, you feel the desperation of those who believe their political fortunes are best served by a forlorn and prolonged skepticism" (par. 13). Despite the fact that Obama is centralizing the federal government, it is virtually impossible for the United States to become socialist like its mother country, Great Britain. When people use this argument against Obama, they are just demonstrating their lack of knowledge.

Many people may refer to this notion (that the country is becoming communist) because they fear. The are unsure of the transition of one president to the next and they fear change from their complacent state. Citizens refer to this logical fallacy and their lack of knowledge becomes transparent.

The point is that Duin recognizes that citizens need this sense of community. Duin says we live in "an ear-plugged society in which everything we need -- including intimacy -- arrives via the iPhone" (par. 10). Overtime we have been separated by the influences and advances of technology. We need to revive a sense of unity, a sense of oneness over the individualism that has driven or economy to rock bottom. Because Obama is choosing to strengthen certain government programs, does not mean he is redefining the American ideals that this country was founded on! We must overlook the childish remarks people make when they do not fully understand the politics of Obama, especially when they talk out of fear. It is unethical and clearly a lack of persuasive rhetoric when the general public relies on manipulation to portray their view.

Society needs to be charitable about our opponent's intentions and we must establish trust. Although I may not agree with the political ideology of the author, I do understand his frustrations. I can see how polarization of the political parties is occurring in the United States. We can "agree to disagree" and establish intellectual humility but we cannot become accustomed to mistrusting citizens of the other political party. On this basis, politics will become more of a mess. The goal is the pursuit of truth and by discovering the truth, we can arrive at the best way to govern our country.