Essays

Following Donald Trump’s lead, some conservatives have taken to vocally, and sometimes gleefully, blaming China for the current pandemic. For example: On the one hand, this tweet has the decency and clarity to specify the Chinese Communist Party, instead of more broadly impugning the people of China, or people of Chinese descent around the world….

Political speeches aim to inspire and influence, to slant and spin, to flatter and fool. But when those aims become the only aims, and reason disappears beneath rhetoric, something important is lost. Imagine getting it back. We need to start off with something absolutely urgent. We need to start by talking about defending our elections…

Political speeches aim to inspire and influence, to slant and spin, to flatter and fool. But when those aims become the only aims, and reason disappears beneath rhetoric, something important is lost. Imagine getting it back. I want to talk with you tonight about some of the big ideas of my campaign, of my entire…

We use language for some very different tasks. We use it to reason carefully, to weigh evidence, to gain clarity, to pursue truth. And we also use language to obscure, to spin, to manipulate, to deceive. Both sorts of uses are necessary in politics. But it’s helpful to be aware of when we’re doing what….

Political speeches aim to inspire and influence, to slant and spin, to flatter and fool. But when those aims become the only aims, and reason disappears beneath rhetoric, something important is lost. Imagine getting it back. I want to begin, tonight, with some praise for President Trump. Growing up I was always told to look…