Rhetorical Criticism as Moral Action Revisited: Moral and Rhetorical Imperatives in a Nation Trumped

Thirty years ago we argued that contemporary rhetorical thought imbued moral and rhetorical imperatives into the critic's responsibilities. In subsequent years, critics have worked diligently to engage rhetoric's power in the ongoing social order. In this essay, we argue that changes in political practices and media systems over the intervening years have intensified the urgency for such criticism. First, we consider the consequences of changes in the media ecology and political practices on the quality of public and civic life. Second, we illustrate in President Donald Trump's arguments regarding immigration, an especially toxic political rhetoric that betrays democratic values and threatens to undermine our democratic community. Third, we offer a vision of cosmopolitanism as a rhetorical mode to restore democratic values.