rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Fred Mertz) (02/01/85)
> The works of Dickens, Stowe and the little girl who wrote those letters from > the unborn child are NOT meant to convince the unconvinced. They are meant > to rile up the convinced! UNCLE TOM'S CABIN was a tar and feather job on the > South. It was written for the North!!!! [ARNDT] Sounds like the majority of "arguments" in many newsgroups on the net. (And over 90% of the work of Ken Arndt--except in his case the list of already "convinced" people he's riling up consists of himself and no one else...) Freedom of speech allows people to spout empty provocative nonsense in support of their cause. It also allows opponents to show how empty that nonsense really is. Those opponents may think that it's obvious what nonsense the original stuff is, but if freedom of speech is valued there's something to be gained by (seemingly redundantly) pointing that fact out. Don't forget that the more gullible ones who don't realize the "obvious" about manipulative rhetoric get to vote, and often do so. -- Anything's possible, but only a few things actually happen. Rich Rosen pyuxd!rlr