October 17, 2008

We are all sophists now

By: AF Editors

I missed the final debate, having been in class at the time, though I can’t say I’m itching to catch up on it. Having read the commentary on it (and on the one before it, and on the one before that), however, I was struck by the focus on not who made the most compelling case for himself, or whose ideas were the most persuasive, but on who landed the strongest blows against his opponent; who sold himself better.

Politics as a grappling match, in other words. It is unsurprising that the candidates and their respective teams would encourage this kind of thinking, as they are the ones seeking political power for themselves. And I suppose it is understandable that the media would engage in it as well, being that this is what sells, and they are after all a business.

But it is mystifying to me why we should follow suit, having little to gain and much to lose by it.