Fallacies and Slander

As the 2018 election season approaches, I feel compelled to point out a major flaw in campaign rhetoric, and media commentaries in general, that has degraded our dialogue for too long.  The rampant relegation of meaningful discussion to uncontested utterances of fallacy deserves critical consideration.

At the risk of sounding like a tutorial for high school debate club, I would like to point out the corrupt appeals in the claims of politicians and news personalities.  My intent is to arm my fellow conservatives with logical means to degrade the rhetorical attacks of Leftists.  The barrage of utter slander leveled at our current president is alarming.  So, let’s fight back.

Fallacy Call-Out #1:  The Straw Man Fallacy

Among multiple fallacy usage, the one I notice that permeates nearly every argument posed by Leftists is the “Straw Man”.  This fallacy is a misrepresentation of the opponent’s stance posited in order to make it easier to attack.  We see it all the time:  “Donald Trump wants to make America WHITE again!”  …Fallacy Alert… The Straw Man here is the corruption of President Trump’s position, misrepresenting it as a racist agenda.  That corrupt appeal to outrage (implying white supremacy attitude) is a total misrepresentation of the Trump Administration’s vision for America.

Our president’s call for stricter adherence to immigration laws, border protection, and construction of a border wall has nothing to do with racism.  Factually speaking, it is clear the intent is to correct an illegal immigration problem that has been allowed to escalate out of control for many years; the move to tighten the enforcement of existing laws is not racist at all.  However, the Left mischaracterizes President Trump’s agenda as “racist” because that universally abhorrent designation is easy to attack.

Retaliation:

1. Stop your opponent’s claim in its tracks by naming the fallacy that it is: A Straw Man, an invalid argument
2. Call out their slanderous claim and insist they state a valid claim that conforms to the decorum of logical debate.
3. Refuse to be drawn into the argument by mounting a defense that is already suffering a disadvantage. Your rhetorical disadvantage is that you are not defending your actual position; you are attempting to refute a misrepresentation, which is not only a hopeless endeavor, but a complete waste of time trying to dig yourself out of a hole rather than beginning on a level playing field.
4. Insist on a restated claim: This will deflect the disadvantage and return it to your opponent, because they will need to rethink their argument.
5. Repeatedly call out your opponent’s claim for the fallacy that it is until they establish a factual, logical claim.

Far too long, conservatives have enabled the Left to control the narrative through use of fallacy that usurps the high ground of the argument.  This is an invalid debate technique.  It is time we stand up and fight back by reclaiming the narrative