Pathetic Discourse

At times there seems to be overwhelming use of pathos in everyday life but I feel like that's what our society calls for. Everyone wants their message to be heard. The easiest way of doing that is through emotion. Trying to truly connect with someone else and getting them to understand your message. When it gets to be excessive is when the fallacies come into play. People want to go so far as to scare others into believing the claims that they are making. Tabloids often make extreme accusations in order to get the attention of the public. This works on a lot of people because they are drawn into the claims that are being made. Whether it be because of fear, disgust or excitement. If someone makes a claim that the world is going to come to an end, there is going to be excitement around the subject. This would draw reader in and then they would inevitably see the adds for other stories and products. I feel like these are the cases when using the pathetic is too much. Overall though, I feel like the pathetic discourse in our society does add to our culture and allows us to connect on a deeper level.

All to Blame, if any...

In all honestly, though public discourse has become more and more pathetic, I do not believe that public discourse has become too pathetic. This is primarily due to the fact that emotions are what interest us. Unless reading for the facts, people don't typically read a book unless it is full of emotion and things that draw our attention. So people over-exaggerate a little. So they make something out of nothing and at times make viewers and readers everywhere a little crazy. The problem is--the media does this because the people crave it. This may be a hard truth to face but it is also a hard truth to deny. Whether you are reading a book, listening to a speech, or hearing the news, emotion and pathos need to be involved. As horrible as it is, we are drawn to these appeals by nature. That being said, the receivers are to blame just as much as the presenters and if public discourse attempts to become less pathetic, well, everyone is going to be a little disappointed.