Thank You for Arguing: Chapter 21 Summary & Analysis

In this chapter, Heinrichs will discuss how rhetoricians use the identity strategy to encourage an audience to agree with them. He’ll also talk about how to use the identity strategy to associate the audience’s identity with a symbol. For the purposes of this chapter, he’ll refer to such a symbol as a “halo.”

Before Heinrichs move forward, he reviews the meaning of ethos. Consider three people: a heart surgeon, Mother Teresa, and Nelson Mandela. Which trait of ethos best defines each of these three people? Practical wisdom is probably the most applicable term for the surgeon, since he knows how to use his training to save lives. Mother Teresa would probably be most strongly associated with disinterest, since she was selfless in her devotion to the poor. Virtue applies to Mandela, since he embodies the ideals of his nation. Heinrichs argues that Mandela—and all great leaders—can lead the masses and change history to a degree that people like Mother Teresa and the heart surgeon cannot. Leaders lead by upholding people’s values, and by appealing to these values in strategic ways.

The importance of identity strategy was apparent to all in the 2012 presidential election, in which Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney. There’s a rule of thumb that Americans will elect whichever candidate they’d rather have a beer with—i.e., whichever candidate seems more easy-going and relatable. But in the case of the 2012 election, neither candidate was seen as relatable. Both parties spent millions to make their opposing candidates seem out of touch with America—and, in many ways, the Democrats won by making Romney seem out of touch.

Why is it so important to identify with our leaders? A few reasons: 1) “Our leaders embody our best selves”—in other words, a leader’s duty is to uphold values with their very character and behavior; 2) “Identity motivates,” meaning that people are most likely to listen to leaders with whom they identify closely; 3) “We feel best when we live up to our values,” in the sense that a leader reminds us of what’s important in life, and what we should all be striving for.

During his time as a consultant, Heinrichs developed a strategy for creating a halo—a “powerful image tied to the audience’s best sense of self.” Creating a halo involves three steps: 1) Defining the issue in the simplest terms. This can be more challenging than one might think; however, a rhetorician needs to recognize what their audience is interested in, and what issues it cares about. 2) Finding common values. Usually, a rhetorician can identify common values using commonplace words and phrases. 3) Symbolizing the values. This is the most challenging step, and it involves developing powerful symbols for the values represented in commonplaces. An American flag is a great example of a powerful halo.

Once, Heinrichs consulted for the military vaccination program, MILVAX. His job was to develop a campaign that would encourage soldiers to accept a vaccine, even though it would leave a permanent scar. Heinrichs developed a halo—the scar itself—in order to symbolize strength and honor. MILVAX started an online campaign in which soldiers displayed their scars. Heinrichs has also used the halo method for an ad campaign designed to encourage middle-class British women to drink less. Heinrichs and his colleagues developed the halo of the “floor monkey”—the “dehumanized, stupid, embarrassed” girl who drinks so much she can’t stand anymore.

Halos are everywhere in politics. Figures like “Joe the Plumber” and “welfare mothers” are halos, designed to convey a specific political point. In Heinrichs’ own life, he once tried to convince his son George to ski instead of playing hockey. In retrospect, Heinrichs thinks, he could have used the halo of the bench to convince George that he’d have more fun, and see more action, as a skier. But interestingly, George chose to ski anyway—perhaps because he identified with the values of ski culture. George’s decision is a good reminder that demonstrative rhetoric isn’t “all about glorious speechmaking. It’s also about tribes.”