Towards the Rhetorical Analysis of a Bumper Sticker - Essay Example

One of the most important parts of being rhetorically strong in understanding the arguments that another side will use against you, anticipating those arguments, and countering them before they are made. This is the way that you convince people of new things, the fundamental point of rhetoric. The bumper sticker “I shouldn’t have to press 1 for English” completely fails to do this – there are many reasons that a person should have to press 1 for English – in fact, if the person who has this bumper sticker lives in Southern California, there is a chance they should be pressing 2 for English – because English is not the most dominant language in some parts of the country.

There are certainly many people who would agree with the sentiment “I shouldn’t have to press 1 for English” – but there are also sure many people who would disagree to that statement. The point of rhetoric is to convince new people, not simply pander to one’s base. This bumper sticker, because of its lack of anticipation and argument, would fail to convince anyone who does not already agree with it, which means that it is fundamentally rhetorically weak.