Winning My Arguments

          I've had my share of arguments over the last few years. I hadn't really thought about the importance of rhetoric or how much of it was actually an active part of my life, but Thank You For Arguing definitely opened my eyes to a world I had never acknowledged.

          Rhetoric, argument, persuasion, and manipulation live amongst us. At times they work for us, but sometimes they work against us. What most of us don't realize is that much of this is under our control, but we first have to learn how to take advantage of it and exploit it. The truth of the matter is that most of the arguments I come across are there seeking a winner. It's usually a choice which involves myself and another person, because you can't really make an argument against yourself (can you?), and I don't really know if I usually win or lose. The other day I was trying to convince my mom to let me go on a trip with a few friends. It's a classic argument amongst teenagers. Her immediate response was a strong no and my initial reaction was anger and frustration. A beginners mistake, but I've learnt my lesson. That attitude just exasperated the situation and it quickly escalated into a heated debate in which the topic was no longer if I could or could not go to the trip, but rather if my tone of voice was appropriate for such a discussion. In conclusion it was a disaster. My next eristic (the name that refers to debates seeking to win a point) came shortly after that next week. Again the issue at hand was whether or not I could go on a trip with my friends, but this time there was an external variable that was there to define the outcome of our argument. I had to win my point, whether or not my grades where sufficiently good or not for me to deserve such a reward, and with my newly acquired expertise I put myself to the task of coming out victorious. I used a little concessio at first to make some point for myself. I said, "I agree mom. I could've done better overall and for next quarter I'll have my blogs on time for sure". Some more of "You're right", "I agree", etc. Then I told her we should devise a plan that would allow for less procrastination on my part and more time to spend together for both of us. That was definitely the cherry on top. 

          I managed to change her mood by showing my compromise to the cause of my academic life and that was eventually a catalyst to changing her mind. I was able to turn a menacing no into a carefully executed yes. What a masterpiece. I was proud of myself and my developing skill set, and now the only thing left was to decide whether or not to take any sunblock. That in fact was an argument with myself and lets just say that judging by the pain I am going through in my extremities it was my stubborn side the one that came out victorious.