Rhetorical Citizenship: Then and Now

Rhetorical and citizenship are two very important words that can stand alone, but are
also interrelated. This paper will discuss the importance of the two terms independently and
linked, throughout the years, dating back to Aristotle. And, perhaps even more important to the
paper, my understanding of the terms from when I first learned about them, up until this day.

I. Rhetoric: A Definition through the Ages

Author Sam Leith wrote a book, Words like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric from Aristotle to
Obama, discussing the old days of rhetor versus now. Leith describes rhetoric as the art of
persuasion: the attempt by one human being to influence another in words (1); therefore,
writing is an important skill for a rhetorician to have.

In the book, Leith states Aristotle was the first and highest ranked person to truly study
and explore rhetoric. He wrote Rhetoric, which Leith says is the first great systematic statement
of how rhetoric works (28). Aristotle was the primary person to realize that studying rhetoric is
also studying humanity. Aristotle identified three branches of oratory, which were judicial,
deliberative, and epideictic, and the three persuasive appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos. For
Aristotle, rhetoric is dialects cousin.

What Leith and Aristotle are trying to argue is that words and persuasion go hand in
hand. Words are our strongest tools of a communication and persuasion; without them, our
argument would be shoddy.

II. Citizenship for the Writer

If one composes words well, they may gain citizenship as a citizen writer, which
according to Amy J. Wan, has been the mission of education in the United States (28). In the
Name of Citizenship: The Writing Classroom and the Promise of Citizenship is a journal where
Wan discusses and describes this sort of citizenship. Like Aristotle and Leith, Wan believes in
the importance of writing, stating, The will to produce citizenship through the teaching of
writing is strong (28). Teachers understand the importance of writing and try to teach that to
students, because in order to move on in the world, one must speak and write well.

The goals and beliefs of educators are teaching writing skills that will encourage
engagement and participation in the world, especially participating in citizen discussions, which
include public writing and blogs. Once a person has fulfilled these sorts of tasks, they will obtain
a writing citizenship.

III. Rhetoric and Citizenship United

Rhetorical citizenship is communicating through the act of writing and speaking to

improve our society. By participating in public activities, we learn what changes should be made,
and move forward in trying to make those adaptions. Its addressing problems and creating
solutions, and doing so by educating and informing the public about it.
Enlightening others and participating in action is a form of civic engagement, and therefore
making us rhetoricians because we are persuading others to perform an act. Doing so through the
power of words provides us with a citizenship, which Wan described, that can be used to further
participate in citizenship discussions.

According to Isocrates, another Greek rhetorician like Aristotle, It is appropriate for

everyone to want to become skilled speakers through education, because it will make you
superior to others (258). And the subject matter is important. Isocrates said, Someone who
chooses to speak and write speeches worthy of praise and honor will not possibly select topics
that are unjust or insignificant or that deal with private arguments but those public issues which
are important and noble and promote human welfare. If he does not discover such topics, he will
accomplish nothing (255). In order to be skilled speaker, one must speak of something that will
affect the public in a positive way.

IV. My Own Citizenship Experience

Recently I participated in an act of civic engagement. By utilizing public transportation, a

simple and mundane task such is riding the bus, I became aware of problems in our local bus
service, LYNX. In my city of Sanford, our bus service only runs Monday through Saturday, once
an hour. Other cities in Central Florida run on Sundays at least twice an hour. Once I discovered
this fault in my local bus routes, I decided to take action and ask questions.

I contacted Matthew Friedman of LYNX media services, and asked him questions about
why they dont provide bus services in Sanford on Sundays. After gathering information from
him, I rode the buses in my town. I spoke to people on the bus about their feelings regarding the
bus services, and I quickly learned many people were upset with the system. I wanted to take
action. I wanted to make things better for these people. With a few fellow classmates at UCF, I
created a plan for a campaign to propose to the LYNX. We discussed using social media,
including making educational YouTube videos, and creating a hashtag to symbolize our

movement. We wanted to make a change in the system, and we had to use the power of
persuasion to do so.

I learned from Friedman, the LYNX spokesperson, that there will changes being made to
the Sanford services. They would begin providing a service on Sundays. Thrilled, I wrote an
article about this for The Sanford Herald. A few weeks later, I was out at a local restaurant,
where I bumped into two people I interviewed for the article. One of them thanked me for
writing the article, telling me that people on the bus were very happy about the additions. My
article made them aware of this. I taught them something, which is also an act of civic
engagement.

So what was supposed to be just a simple assignment to ride the bus, turned out to be
multiple acts of civic engagement. I viewed, I participated, I learned, I wrote, and I taught.
According to Wan, I would be considered a citizen.

V. A Student of Rhetor

Prior to taking a course in rhetoric and civic engagement, Ive seen and heard the terms
rhetor, civic engagement, pathos, ethos, and so forth, with only small knowledge of the
definitions. The class readings were initially unfamiliar and difficult, but at the end, re-reading
became easier after experiencing them myself. Throughout the semester, everything became
clearer.

Little did I know, prior to my learnings, I participated in forms of civic engagement, and
could have been viewed as a rhetorician myself. Participating in debates, giving speeches,

writing newspaper articles, and donating to local charities, and just plain being involved allowed
me the title of rhetorician. I get this now. And going back to Isocrates, it is important for
humans to acquire a superior education in intellect and speech (258).

While taking the Rhetoric and Civic Engagement, I have also been waking a creative
writing. I wrote several stories for this class, including one about my experiences with bullying.
A fellow student who read all my stories told me, You always have such pathos in your
writings, which he said he enjoys. Had he made that comment to me months ago, I may not
have understood the term pathos. But now I do. And I now know that all these items work
together to make us human beings.

Going back to our first reading, Rhetoric as Symbolic Action in Rhetoric in Civil Life,
the authors said: Human beings make sense of their interactions with the world and with each
other through symbols (the words and images) they attach to their experiences. Words (language)
and images (icons, pictures, photos, bodies, architectural structures) are not merely a means to
transit information, they are the grounds for the judgments people make about things, events, and
other people. Quite simply, symbols matter (3). According to this text, your professional selfimage is influenced by how others describe you (3). Like Isocrates said, education through
intellect and speech are important, and we can link what he said to our professional self-image. I
can walk away from this course with a more improved self-image compared to when I walked in,
because I used words and symbols in my writing and actions to participate in something for the
greater good.

Works Cited

Isocrates, David C. Mirhady, and Yun Lee. Too. Isocrates I. Austin, TX: University of Texas,
2000. Print.

Leith, Sam. Words like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama. New York: Basic
Books, 2012. Print.

Palczewski, Catherine, Helen, Richard, Ice and John Fritch. Rhetoric in Civic Life. State
College, PA: Strata Publishing Inc., 2012. Print.

Wan, Amy J. In the Name of Citizenship: The Writing Classroom and the Promise of
Citizenship. 2011: Journal.