Outright Barbarous: How the Violent Language of the Right Poisons American Democracy

ISBN-10: 0978843150
ISBN-13: 9780978843151
Category: Political science (General)
Pages: 203
Language: English
Published: 2008
Publisher: Ig Pub.
Author: Jeffrey Feldman

Description

“Outright Barbarous turns the spotlight on the rhetorical thuggery of the Right, exposing how the verbal excesses are being perpetrated not just by media blowhards like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh but by conservative thought leaders. But Feldman does more than point fingers; he offers practical steps for cleaning up our too-often-toxic political discourse.”—Arianna Huffington

“Since 9/11, America has been contaminated by the violence of right-wing language, in the speeches of Republican politicians and the rantings of the talking heads on Fox News and on conservative talk radio. Jeffrey Feldman's insightful and important book cuts through the violence, and shows how we can restore the democratic ideals that America was founded upon.”—Thom Hartmann

“Jeffrey Feldman warns us to ignore the right wing noise machine at our own peril. Backed by right-wing think tanks, foundations and millionaire families, conservative standard bearers will continue to enrich themselves at the cost of a more civil, equitable society. Read Outright Barbarous to find out what they're really saying, and how we can stop it!"—Sam Seder

Since September 11, 2001, most attempts at reasoned political debate in America have been severely limited by the violent language of the Right. In books and on television, it has become a regular ritual for conservative pundits and intellectuals to infuse violence—particularly against Democrats or liberals—into discussions of the major issues of the day, such as terrorism, immigration and gun violence. The result is the creation of a shrill discourse that silences opposition and destroys any chance for serious, civil debate.

In Outright Barbarous: How the Violent Language of the Right Poisons American Democracy, political language expert Jeffrey Feldman analyzes the words of leading conservative figures Ann Coulter, Dinesh D'Souza, James Dobson, Wayne LaPierre, Pat Buchanan and Bill O'Reilly to show how the Right's language of violence is polluting our public discourse and limiting the free exchange of ideas. In addition to exposing the conservative obsession with violence, Feldman also shows how the civic discussion in America can be reshaped without the use of violent language, creating a healthier political climate.

An expert on language and political messaging, Jeffrey Feldman is the author of Framing the Debate: Famous Presidential Speeches and How Progressives Can Use Them to Change the Conversation (and Win Elections.) He is also editor of the influential blog, Frameshop(http://frameshopisopen.com), and teaches at New York University.

Get the book

Similar books

Politics and the English Language
By George Orwell
While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell’s essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership.
Routledge Revivals: Language, Education and Society Series
By Various Authors
... outright barbarous. (C£,4, 139) Prefer has turned to never, and the last rule is what is known in current slang as a ... outright barbarous'. (Barbarous thereby joins the ranks of disapproving words like woolly, Authorities 141.
Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language” in the Age of Pseudocracy
By William Haltom, Hans Ostrom
Orwell’s "Politics and the English Language" in the Age of Pseudocracy visits the essay as if for the first time, clearing away lore about the essay and responding to the prose itself.
The Essential Guide to Building Your Argument
By Dave Rush
... where they are arguing about the history of the 'myth of the stupid savage', whereby so-called 'primitive' peoples were argued to be When reading, think like a writer Break any rule rather than say something outright barbarous.
A Creative Approach to Teaching Writing
By Steve Bowkett
... outright barbarous'. This brings us nicely back to Basho's remark – page 16. A classic work on clear writing is The Elements ofStyle by William Strunk and E. B. White (of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little fame). Another book that I ...
Can I Change Your Mind?: The Craft and Art of Persuasive Writing
By Lindsay Camp
Engaging, entertaining and-as you'd expect-highly persuasive, Can I Change Your Mind? will change the way you think about the words you use for ever. 'This is a cunning, masterly and hugely readable book.
Fashion Writing: Journalism and Content Creation
By Stephen Spear, Josephine Collins
... outright barbarous . ' This same rubric should be followed by writers using a CMS's prompts . Use them but remember to be a human first . Pace , rhythm , word choice , accuracy , narrative and style are still under your control ...
Multilingualism
By John Edwards
19; the relevant sections of Locke's Essay are reproduced in Crowley's book. Crowley, 1991, p. 68. Modern lexicographers are less Quintilian-like and, even in 1877, Alexander Ellis (a co-worker with James Murray, the editor of the ...
Social Dialectology: In Honour of Peter Trudgill
By David Britain, Jenny Cheshire
... outright barbarous.” But how do we recognise when a use of language is barbarous? What are the defining linguistic features of barbarity? We are back to square one. What all of these writers have in common, from Sprat to Orwell, is a ...