Demagogy - the dark side of the art of speech and persuasion
Ironically, the common use of the word demagoguery is "a speech I don't agree with, but it's m-m-s good". Even more ironically, almost always the accusation 'you are a demagogue' towards someone is a demagogic statement in itself (we will explain shortly). In fact, using the phrase 'demagoguery' that came up in the research I did for this article - in the media, in life and in academia - was actually an intelligent-looking way of saying 'You are not only wrong, you are also an immoral person.' (ToAnalysis of other definitions of rhetoric)
What is demagoguery and why does it annoy us?
So that we can use the term 'demagoguery' effectively, I suggest the definition 'a simplistic and one-sided presentation of emotional arguments'. In light of such a definition, it is clear why demagoguery is effective - because it is very convincing to those who are already convinced.
When the speaker presents only his side ('ours' as an audience) he is very convincing because there is no need to balance opposing interests. For example, imagine that Israel would have erected the checkpoints in the territories just like that without the provocation of the suicide attacks - obviously this would have greatly strengthened the anti-Israel line. When a Palestinian speaker presents the suffering of the civilian population at the checkpoints without mentioning the Park Hotel or the Dolphinarium, this is exactly the result he achieves. Demagoguery in the opposite direction will claim that the Palestinians are just killing Israelis for no reason.
In addition, when a speaker presents a complex topic in a simple way, he can make the audience feel that there is no room for doubt and misunderstanding. From this point of view, if, for example, we ignore the internal struggles between the Palestinians, and the desire of Hamas to thwart the opening, we can present a very simple and therefore very convincing argument. When we say "since
The announcement of direct negotiations two months ago suddenly renewed the shooting of the Qassams to the south, therefore the peace process is an excuse for the Palestinians to shoot at us more' will certainly sound convincing. Here, too, it was possible to present a demagogic counter-argument according to which Israel used the Oslo process as a disguise to double the number of settlers within three years.
The last element of the demagogic argument is an appeal to emotion. This is of course a standard rhetorical technique and should not be monopolized by a demagogue, but a speaker who is just one-sided and simplistic without playing on the emotions of the audience simply will not be convincing.
How to make a speech for a demagogue (just understand. Don't apply, please)
1. Think about all counterarguments and then ignore them
It is much more difficult than it sounds, because it requires thinking about those arguments, understanding them well and then ignoring - not contradicting or denying, but ignoring. For example, when Hitler presented the 'Final Solution' to the senior leadership of the Nazi Party at the Wannsee Conference, he was asked how he would present the action to the world if it was revealed. Hitler decided that Nazi Germany would simply ignore the international response to the genocide, and only present the 'Jewish danger' internally. Some claim that he also used the phrase 'does anyone even remember the Armenian massacre today?'
2. Remove unnecessary intermediate steps in the explanation
The truth is that it is not necessarily demagoguery. In fact, many times it is a good idea to save your audience unnecessary steps in the explanation, and when trying to teach a process it may even be very helpful. The demagogic way to do this is to simply prepare a detailed explanation, then lower all the steps until you are left with three at the most - as in the phrase "one people, one country, one Fuehrer".
3. Divide the world into 'us and them'
A very effective persuasion technique is to attribute only evil to one side, and only good to the other. Of course, this must be done at the content level (self-criticism must be avoided, for example), but even more so at the level of the rambunctious style. Every time we talk about our side to switch to an optimistic or sensitive tone of voice, every time we talk about the other side to talk in an angry or disparaging tone.
4. Insert lots and lots of anger (contempt and self-pity will also work well)
To give a speech like a demagogue it is important to put a lot of emotion into the speech, and avoid positive feelings of hope, empathy, intellectual curiosity. A particularly easy way to do this is by raising your voice, but waving your hands strongly and silencing the other party also generate the necessary negative energies.
How to deal with demagoguery
It is of course important to emphasize that it is not easy to deal with demagogy (that's why demagogues use it), but a very large part of the difficulty is an emotional difficulty and not a rhetorical difficulty. In other words, it is precisely calm and balanced thinking that will make it possible to give a strong and emotional response.
First technique: 'Don't be right, be smart'
It is very easy for a demagogue to convince the audience that they - he and the audience - are right. Therefore, many times it is more effective to show that the demagogue is simply not smart. Sentences like 'I'm not saying that the Palestinians don't want to throw us into the sea, but we also need to think about what we will really gain from preventing a merchant from Bethlehem from reaching Hebron' can make the audience think about the consequences of the demagogue's proposals as well.
Second technique: point to the demagoguery
I do not intend here to call the other side a demagogue, because that is done all the time anyway, so this technique has lost its effectiveness. The intention is to expose one-sidedness and simplicity, and the best way to do this is to show how much 'we' hate when this is done to us. For example, "You know the anti-Zionists who attack us abroad on the separation fence and ignore all the attacks that caused us to erect it?" So the speech we just heard does exactly the same thing."
Third technique: counter demagoguery (less effective)
Sometimes you can fight one demagoguery with the help of another demagoguery. This technique works when we have a loud enough speaker to go over any speaker and other interference, and go straight to the emotions of the audience.
The way to do this is to define a new 'us and them', and then appeal to emotion in a simplistic way. In this way we make the previous division irrelevant. For example, every time they attack the ultra-Orthodox, they try to create a feeling that 'we are all Jews' in order to define the Arabs as 'them'. Many times the left does the same thing to the ultra-Orthodox when they attack it as 'Arab lovers'.
A little story to finish
It is said about Knesset member Moshe Sena, who is considered a great orator and a well-known flamethrower, that once, when he came down from the speaker's stand in the plenum, he forgot the page with the speech behind him. The speaker of the Knesset who presided over the debate couldn't help himself and glanced at the page, and found that in the third paragraph, Sena had added the comment 'weak reasoning, raise your voice' in red pen.
So our lesson is that one should notice when someone on the other side uses dirty rhetorical exercises and then expose them. If we all do this, maybe our public discourse will be more respectful and in-depth.
Speech theory - a course for standing in front of an audience
