So, in preparation for my Civ class's discussion on Aristotelian rhetoric, I began reading about the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the preceding debates (in class, we were to pretend it was just before 2003, and to argue for or against the invasion, basing the arguments on the topoi present in Aristotle's discourse regarding deliberative rhetoric). The professor was to split the "Senate" at the beginning of class along partisan lines, so I wasn't sure which point I would be arguing.
As I was browsing Wiki, my roommate Dani (from Ghana) started asking me questions about the US political system. I answered a few basic questions, but those mostly led to other questions. Soon, my Civ homework transformed into a full-on explanatory discussion of US politics to my international roommates; topics from Democrat/Republican vs. "democratic-republic," origin of the bi-partisan system, basic platforms of each party currently and the evolution of those platforms through time, liberal/conservative vs. Democrat/Republican, scope of governments, the invasion of Iraq vs. the invasion of Afghanistan, partisan division on issues such as abortion, national security, marriage, health care, and business; also the method of electing a new president, from beginning to end. o.o
Holy American Heritage review session, Batman.
I enjoyed it. I was glad that I remembered as many details as I did.
Also, I'm glad I'm not going into politics full-time.
More on this subject later.
God Bless America.
