ramage and the damage he has caused to my love for reading

Rhetoric: A User's Guide. If rhetoric was a code word for "self-destruction" or "Bored to tears" I would take this book for all it's worth and applaud Rammage for successfuling achieving both of those things: making me want to self destruct and boring me to tears. However, despite the title of this book, I find that it has very little to do with rhetoric. In fact, in the first 68 pages, Rammage does not successfuly begin to explain what rhetoric is other than with a series of abstract, long-winded, examples that hardly relate to reading, writing, speaking, or even the basic grunts and wooden clubs of caveman communication.

But despite my feelings, this blog is not meant to be used as an avenue for reviewing our (mandatory) text. It is after all a venue for us to relate our experiences with the text and describing what we have learned so far:

1. Socrates was a know-it-all
2. Old dead guys like to talk about rivers
3. metaphors about fast food and slow food should not take up two pages of any book
4. Ramage's pet dog Penny is a gangsta known as "P" or "P-Dog"
5. Sylvia Plath hated her dad

But I suppose I am being a tad dramatic. I will not sit here and pretend that I did not learn anything worth remembering. A few things that caught my eye:

1. There would be know need for rhetoric in a perfect world
2. Sometimes even great things can be changed (constitution)
3. To an extent, we create who we are by what we say
4. Culture has created stereotypes
5. Sylvia Plath hated her dad (hey, it's interesting)

I must admit that for me, finding the good in all of the bad was much like finding a democrat in alabama: not easy. However, with a little effort I found it possible. Now I can only hope that in the coming chapters, my challenge will not be so daunting.