I left this comment in response to the esteemed Stanley Fish's NYT column, in which he compares Barack Obama's campaign to Jesus's evangelism in Hell.
I know things are pretty morbid around here, but I can't help it.
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“…Whom Reason hath equaled, Force hath made Supreme.” [PL1, L248]
Let us not forget that rhetoric can be replaced with violence. The risk of those who are extreme (at either end of the spectrum, if it is linear) is not just their influence over the winner in the White House, but the extent of their unwillingness to be on the losing side of a contest.
As an analyst of rhetoric, Prof. Fish may tend to treat that universe as complete. That may not be indeed realistic.
As a side note, the quote above is Satan complaining about his loss in an assault against Heaven, where he has by implication falsely labeled God the aggressor (and his rhetorical equal). The side which abandons Reason for violence can still blame the other party for the violence.
Let us hope things remain rhetorical, shall we?
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