It was hot. It was the kind of heat that makes a person look past comfort and start thinking about survival. The outside temperature was in the triple digits, and the school building – constructed during World War I – had not been updated with air conditioning yet, which meant the ancient fans in the … Continue reading THE CALL SHOULD BE COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE
Author: BrettRhetoric
I am a communication professor and a singer-songwriter. After the 2016 election, my wife and I decided to do something gigantic. We quit our teaching jobs, sold nearly everything, hit the road in a van. We spent over a year talking to people about polarization and division in our public discourse. I try to write what I've learned about politics, religion, public rhetoric, mental health, music....
Acres
I released a new single on all streaming platforms. I was originally inspired by Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee's follow up to To Kill a Mockingbird. In the story, an adult Scout returns to Maycomb from NYC, where she discovers Atticus is racist. She struggles to reconcile her disappointment with the love and respect … Continue reading Acres
KEEP HOPING MACHINE RUNNING
Our two-and-a-half-year-old grandson comes over regularly, while his parents work growing food and community on Urban Roots Farm. What I like best about his visits is the perfection. He absorbs the world and scribes it on his brain, narrating the scene in flawless sentences, not always limited by the syntax of mere mortals. As I'm … Continue reading KEEP HOPING MACHINE RUNNING
THAT’S GREAT, IT STARTS WITH AN EARTHQUAKE*, or, How the Pandemic Took My Already Fractured Mental Health and Broke Me
It was a snowy evening in early February, 2003, and I was angry at Secretary of State Colin Powell. He was delivering his now-infamous address to the U.N. Security Council, providing the justification for military action in Iraq, and I was yelling at the TV. Because the speech was bullshit. We later learned much of … Continue reading THAT’S GREAT, IT STARTS WITH AN EARTHQUAKE*, or, How the Pandemic Took My Already Fractured Mental Health and Broke Me
THE WALL OF SOUND AND FURY
With the news of Phil Spector’s death, my friend Dallas Jones went to Facebook and posted these important questions: “How do we handle the brilliant work of Phil Spector in relationship to his terrible shortcomings as a human being? How do we ultimately come to terms with any artist/celebrity/musician that has committed unspeakable atrocities?” Comments … Continue reading THE WALL OF SOUND AND FURY
SEES THE DAY
We exist in a world where our social and political institutions are at risk of collapse, family members turning against each other, communities facing violent outbreaks over elections, pandemic safety precautions, financial instability, racial injustice, etc. In this climate of division and polarization – over nearly every issue imaginable – I’ve been giving a great … Continue reading SEES THE DAY
CHANGE THROUGH CONVERSATION?
This is a conversation my friend Doug and I had on our local NPR affiliate, KSMU. We recorded it in early October, 2020, and it aired the day before the election. I continue to struggle with our collective ability to have constructive conversations, whether or not they foster a fallacy of false equivalence, and whether … Continue reading CHANGE THROUGH CONVERSATION?
WE CONTAIN MULTITUDES
I’ve been thinking about us this week, what we’re learning about ourselves and where we go from here. Pluralizing Whitman – “Do we contradict ourselves? Very well then we contradict ourselves, (we are large, we contain multitudes.)” – I’ve grappled with the extraordinary capability we humans have for ignorance and wisdom, cruelty and grace. Those contradictions seem particularly … Continue reading WE CONTAIN MULTITUDES
DARK DAYS AHEAD
I do not share the optimism of my friends. Trump is sinking and Biden remains on the rise. But there may be a much deeper story unfolding. Most of this is covered in Gellman’s article in The Atlantic. Reading his analysis and research would be more valuable than sliding through my bullet points. Items 10-17 … Continue reading DARK DAYS AHEAD
A YEAR OF VANLIFE AND THE RHETORIC OF CIVILITY
This is a version of the remarks I delivered to the Rhetoric and Communication Theory Division of the Texas Speech Communication Association Convention this morning: I was talking to my friend Kaston last night. Kaston lives in Nashville. He’s a songwriter and plays in a band called My Politic. I told him I was “going” to … Continue reading A YEAR OF VANLIFE AND THE RHETORIC OF CIVILITY
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