The Politics of Pathos: Neither Good Nor Bad

It has been argued that discourse today is far too pathetically slanted. Examples of this can be seen most prevalently when watching political pundits but the trend dominates most forms of mass media today (especially television). If this is a good or bad thing is a topic I am extremely split on. On the one hand over dramatizing everything makes participants in discourse reliant on emotion and makes them apt to overlook, or downplay logical arguments. Appeals to emotions have become the norm in modern society. While this is an extremely detrimental side effect, having a pathetically minded populace does have its benefits. Foremost people are much more in tune with their feelings and this does wonders for mental health. Secondly, people become much more engaged in a topic if it tugs at their heartstrings or plays on their fears. Advertisers have been using this technique since Edward Bernays imported it into commerce from his days as a propagandist in South America during WWII. Engagement is the key to interaction and as long as people become involved with discourse this is a start.

While moving towards a more logically minded schema of discourse would be extraordinary it does not seem that this will be the case any time soon. Mass media outlets provide a framework for how people structure their own discourse. We are bombarded by advertisements and other forms of pathetic content literally thousands of times a day. And the way that mass media is shaped today seems to suggest that this trend will only increase in the future. So good or bad this is a framework that is here to stay.

While some may find this future bleak we must understand that this is not a new phenomenon. Throughout history civilizations usually reach a point where discourse is saturated with pathetic appeals. In the United States this has been most prevalent in politics but elsewhere across the globe many civilizations have faced the same conditions. As long as we are able to learn from other cultures (and equally importantly, our own) this is a trend that can be utilized to do tremendous good by encouraging discourse and fostering engagement.