We're Falling Short

    When I went to college one of the first survey courses I took was Philosophy 101.  In that course, they discussed the actual definition of the word, 'rhetoric" and how rhetoric is employed to advance public discourse and problem-solving.  It's an area of thought that goes back, at least, to the ancient Greeks.  I realized then and I still believe, not understanding rhetoric and linguistic forensics was a major hole in my education.  We should learn these things right along with learning our ABCs.  This knowledge is critical for any citizen of any country and is essential to rational thought.
    There is a good reason why public schools don't teach recent history.  Public events are vociferously debated for decades after the fact, as they should be.  It's almost impossible to relate recent historical events without advancing one side or the other in that debate. That's what family discussion and Sunday School are for.
    However, teaching the nuts and bolts of discourse isn't partisan.  It's becoming more and more obvious it's essential.  We are confronted with people who speak in an endless stream of fallacies. Some do so to deliberately mislead.  Others do so because they actually think in an endless stream of fallacy.  For some, it's a failure of morality.  For others, it's a failure of education.
    It's hard to sell bullshit as a bouquet of roses to someone who has been educated to know what bullshit smells like. These things should be part of all, elementary education. The thing to remember is; they are an important part of any law school education.  If someone trained as an attorney mouths a fallacy you know he's being deliberately dishonest.  Most politicians are attorneys.
    There are several listings of these illogical tactics, some less obscure than others. I think they should be published every day, in a box, on every editorial page.  Doing so would reduce a lot of opinion columns to farce.
    By far the most common is 'setting up a strawman'.  That's where you mischaracterize what's been said or done and then criticize your own mischaracterization.  The second most common is probably 'poisoning the well'. Familiarly illustrated by, " When did you stop beating your wife."  I don't think that needs more explanation.
    I judge politicians by how often they employ fallacies for the simple reason it means they are either poor thinkers or dishonest.  I do remember the only time I saw Jimmy Carter employ a rhetorical fallacy. He couldn't do it without smiling because he knew what he was doing.  LOL. To my mind that excused it.  The educated people who employ fallacies consciously to deceive will never be excused.
    The point is: Educate yourself.  If you know these things the fallacies clang a warning like a broken bell.