Why Don't We Complain

Why Don't We Complain?

William F. Buckley

3. Buckley addresses the subject of political apathy by relating it to the point he makes about how the majority of Americans are "lukewarm" to the issues of the day. He uses the topic in the paragraph before which states that American families are "helpless" and how easily they give their power away and do not realize how the power is taken away/that they freely hand the power over to others. He ties in political apathy by stating that no matter what political party is in office, that "more and more power drains away from the individual to feed vast reservoirs in far-off places; and we have less and less to say about the shape of events which shape our future." (Buckley)

1. Buckley attempts to support the thesis of how Americans truly have become passive aggressive in terms of speaking up/complaining about things that might be annoying or if something is not right. He tries to convince the reader that by not speaking up that they are slowly handing over their individual power into the hands of others.

2. As a whole Buckley's essay is an example of appeal to emotion and reasoned argument. An example of appeal to emotion is when he tells his personal story of when he was on the train and the temperature in the car was very hot, but no one said anything. This story makes the reader feel bad for Buckley, and provokes the ideal that "yeah he is right". He uses rational appeal when he talks about the comparison with political apathy and how Americans are truly letting go of their individual power (paragraph 20) and how the government is becoming more powerful, whether it be Republican or Democrat.

1. Buckley uses a capital A in Authority to express the idea of authority as an entity. By personifying/objectifying authority, it allows the reader to presume that by having too much authority over them, it could almost lead to a dictatorial situation. If this "Authority" has all this power over them (which they gave up voluntarily without knowing), how do the people know when their power will be completely taken away for good? Will the people have to completely submit to this Authority? Buckley provokes these questions by making the "a" in authority capital.