In an essay entitled, “Is Persuasion Dead?,” Matt Miller questions if persuasion is a “lost art,” an obsolete tool necessary to shape peoples beliefs. He recognizes the obvious lack of ability and desire to persuade and be persuaded by many people, even by politicians whose main purpose is to gain support.
Miller uses the imagery of political debate and mass medias as examples of trying to “win” as opposed to trying to persuade and inform. Although they may fail to receive the necessary amount of time to develop their arguments, as he states in the text, they are also utilizing their limited time allotted to skew the objective. Politicians tend to combat their opponents and gain notoriety through personality traits rather than through their meaningful ideals. Politics are essentially becoming a popularity contest instead of numerous supporters sharing a common opinion.
Although Miller focuses on politicians and political debates as examples of unsuccessful attempts to deliver arguments or convince an audience, the general public is not likely to seek a new opinion and/or reject an existing one whether successfully presented or not. A commonality developing throughout the young public suggests that strongly supporting certain beliefs is, in turn, promoting yourself. The more whom share the same beliefs, the more comfortable it becomes to possess those beliefs, even though they may all hold an ironic and disappointing tendency to never fully understand what substantiates their beliefs in the first place. The more comfortable someone is, the less likely they are to change.
Miller stresses that without change in attitude, persuasion will soon be forgotten. Strive to broaden the mind, let go of popular opinions and be comfortable with forming new ones. Without the struggle to gain new knowledge, information, and opinion, life will soon become one big popularity contest.
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