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<p>All,</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>I'm no expert, but didn't Burke articulate this concept</p>
<p>with the notion of DIVISION being the always present</p>
<p>corollary of IDENTIFICATION. When I say, "I'm a</p>
<p>Canadian, eh," I'm also saying, "I'm not Guatemalan,</p>
<p>or Russian or Czech or a U.S. citizen . . ." or any number</p>
<p>of possibly contraries. Similarly, if one says "I'm not</p>
<p>for Trump" it doesn't necessarily say, "I'm with HRC,"</p>
<p>but it might say, in the context of this election, "My</p>
<p>division from Trump is greater than my division</p>
<p>from HRC," whose initials are bound to go do in history</p>
<p>like JFK's and FDR's, by the way.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Peace and tear down walls,</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Jim </p>
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<div id="x_divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="font-size:11pt"><b>From:</b> KB <kb-bounces@kbjournal.org> on behalf of wessr@oregonstate.edu <wessr@oregonstate.edu><br>
<b>Sent:</b> October 24, 2016 6:47:05 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Phillip Tompkins; kb@kbjournal.org<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [KB] Burkean identification and Trump</font>
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<div class="PlainText">Phil, thanks for your examples. They provide an interesting contrast.<br>
<br>
While tribal identifications with teams can produce oppositions <br>
leading to hostility, they can also coexist with an identification at <br>
the level of good sportsmanship that transcends such opposition. Win <br>
or lose, you can shake hands with your opponent, the way hockey <br>
players do when they line up at the end of a playoff series, each <br>
player on each team shaking the hand of every player on the other team.<br>
<br>
Such coexistence of two levels is not possible for the Nazi, who can't <br>
transcend to a level cutting across the opposition without giving up <br>
his Nazi identification. An interesting text to explore from this <br>
Burkean standpoint is Irvin Yalom's THE SPINOZA PROBLEM. As you may <br>
know, this is a historical novel about a real Nazi who loved Goethe, <br>
then was dismayed to discover that Goethe loved Spinoza, which <br>
prompted this Nazi to explore what was for him a great mystery: how <br>
could Goethe love a Jew?<br>
<br>
Bob<br>
<br>
Quoting Phillip Tompkins <tompkinp@Colorado.EDU>:<br>
<br>
> I agree with this analysis. I think of identification not only as a <br>
> rhetorical term but also as a value-free social scientific <br>
> construct. Last night I watched the Chicago Cubs win the National <br>
> League title for the first time since 1945. The people in Chicago <br>
> were out of their minds. But there were also some Dodger fans. Who <br>
> are the good guys?<br>
> No doubt the Nazi Party faithful had a powerful sense of <br>
> identification--with that component of superiority that allowed them <br>
> to kill off the lesser groups like the Jews, who in turn identified <br>
> with their religion, culture and customs. Identifying against <br>
> someone or something, howerver, is powerful in our current election. <br>
> We identify with the least offensive candidate.<br>
> Phil Tompkins<br>
><br>
> -----Original Message-----<br>
> From: KB [<a href="mailto:kb-bounces@kbjournal.org">mailto:kb-bounces@kbjournal.org</a>] On Behalf Of wessr@oregonstate.edu<br>
> Sent: Friday, October 21, 2016 4:01 PM<br>
> To: Edward C Appel<br>
> Cc: kb@kbjournal.org<br>
> Subject: [KB] Burkean identification and Trump<br>
><br>
> Burkeans,<br>
><br>
> Burke's concept of identification may illuminate and be illuminated <br>
> by the Trump campaign. A few observations (no doubt there are others):<br>
><br>
> It may be far easier to prevent identification from solidifying than <br>
> to break it once it occurs. Trump's core supporters now appear to <br>
> believe anything he says, no matter how outlandish.<br>
><br>
> Late in the primaries, I saw a TV report of Cruz walking into a <br>
> small crowd of Trump supporters to try to change their minds. A few <br>
> of them starting chanting "lyin Ted," mimicking Trump. Such <br>
> mimicking says something about how identification could lead to <br>
> groups of "trump-shirts" roaming the streets to enforce Trump's will.<br>
><br>
> Identification could be viewed as a good thing that can go bad, as <br>
> in Burke's recounting of a "bad filling of a good need" (PLF 218). <br>
> But maybe it would be better to view identification as an analytic <br>
> rather than an honorific concept to require always taking the extra <br>
> step to explain what makes an identification good or bad.<br>
><br>
> Bob<br>
><br>
> Quoting Edward C Appel <edwardcappel@frontier.com>:<br>
><br>
>> All,<br>
>><br>
>> One of Burke’s examples of the “unifying term” as deflector from<br>
>> gross inequality of sacrifice, privilege, rewards, and motivations was<br>
>> the WWII profiteer who would speak of how “we’re all in this conflict<br>
>> together.” The implicitly unifying identifier “we” in that context so<br>
>> strikingly illustrates the use of “ambiguity” in rhetorical appeal. It<br>
>> put executives at Ford and GM, and GIs being blown apart in Europe and<br>
>> the Pacific, on the same footing.. Up to a point, necessarily vague<br>
>> abstractions of a public-spirited cast legitimately serve to keep<br>
>> societies and polities from coming apart at the seams. Up to a point.<br>
>><br>
>> What’s happened this political season is the result of a sharp<br>
>> fraying or tarring of that social fabric. The success of both Sanders<br>
>> and Trump vouchsafes that disintegration. Forty years of globalization<br>
>> of USAmerican jobs and once-middle-class incomes, to the conspicuous<br>
>> advantage of wealthy owners and executives, who now manufacture more<br>
>> cheaply and sell world-wide, and obvious disadvantage to working class<br>
>> citizens, high school level or lower, has come home to roost. Trump<br>
>> has become the mouthpiece for these ignored and neglected Americans,<br>
>> their plight studiously finessed with the rhetoric of “re-education”<br>
>> for the new technologies, or assurances that “Americans can compete<br>
>> with anybody.” (True, of course, at one dollar an hour.) A wild man<br>
>> like Donald Trump could not likely survive in a less volatile economic<br>
>> situation. He is so cleverly exploiting this one: “I will be your<br>
>> voice!”<br>
>><br>
>> On our private Burkean discussion list, I said long ago that Trump is<br>
>> functioning like a Rorschach Test. He’s the indistinct picture of rage<br>
>> onto which people can project a multitude of grievances. He’s a<br>
>> walking negative: Whatever it is we are doing now that’s taken away<br>
>> our American Dream, “Trump, thank heaven, isn’t that!” All those<br>
>> Clinton adds with Trump spouting invectives?---who are they really<br>
>> helping?<br>
>><br>
>><br>
>> Ed<br>
>><br>
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