Getting to the Heart of the Matter
Some suggested topics for an essay on a moral or political issue
. . .
Most writing about politics or morality fails to come to grips
with two (or more) sides of real issues. Politicians have always
been drawn to phony topics that reflect no true controversy. ("The
people of this great country of ours should be happy . . . .")
This is the "empty rhetoric" that gives rhetoric such a bad name.
Propagandists either misrepresent the positions of their opponents
("Pro-lifers just want to push women back into the dark ages .
. ."), or else they ignore valid opposing viewpoints altogether
("The pro-choice movement has no answer to our moral reasoning
. . ."). Most such writing, then, is either "preaching to the
converted" or else name-calling at the unconverted.
Good political or moral writing, on the other hand, addresses
topics in which there are distinct points of view that clash directly
on various points. Good writing gives an honest, respectful accounting
of each point of view in a way that clarifies the issues at stake.
Good writing doesn't necessarily aim to persuade the reader to
accept one viewpoint and reject the others, although it may do
so; rather, good writing on difficult issues proceeds in the faith
that facts and reason will ultimately speak for themselves. Finally,
good writing assumes good reading -- fair, open-minded, curious,
discerning reading.
The key to writing well about moral or political topics is in
choosing the topics themselves. A good, "juicy" topic has weighty,
well-considered opinions on two or more sides; it has no obviously
"correct" position or solution to a problem; it is of compelling
interest to both the heart and the mind. Here are a few suggested
essay topics:
- In his inaugural address, President Clinton urged that "it is
time to break the bad habit of expecting something for nothing,
from our government or from each other. Let us all take more responsibility,
not only for ourselves and our families but for our communities
and our country." What are some of the conflicts between a commitment
to a strong social welfare system and, at the same time, a culture
that glorifies the rights and freedoms of the individual?
- In Backlash, author Susan Faludi asks, "If women 'have it all,'
then why don't they have the most basic requirements to achieve
equality in the workforce? Unlike virtually all other industrialized
nations, the US government still has no childcare programs and
more than 99% of American private employers don't offer childcare
either." What are some of the pros and cons of instituting a nationwide
program of childcare?
- Abraham Lincoln once said, "The ballot is stronger than the bullet."
Mao Tse-Tung said that "every Communist must grasp the truth,
'Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.'" Can society
be governed without either violence (military and police forces,
prisons, ƒ ) or the threat of violence (laws, courts, ƒ ), and
the means of maintaining power (taxes, borders, ƒ )?
- The English philosopher John Locke wrote that "Nature never makes
excellent things for mean or no uses." That is, all that exists
is here for our human use, and this is the essence of man's relationship
with the earth. Many people urge that mankind is the master of
nature and should be a "good steward" of the earth. A more recent
point of view is that humanity is only one element among many
elements of nature, that we are not at the top of the natural
pyramid because there is no such pyramid. How does each of these
positions reflect upon our relationship with the natural world?
- According to Naomi Wolf, the author of The Beauty Myth, "Young
women have been doubly weakened. Raised to compete like men in
rigid male-model institutions they must also maintain to the last
detail an impeccable femininity. Young women today are expected
to act like 'real men' and look like 'real women.'" Do young women
in the 1990s really have more freedom than their mothers and grandmothers?
© Michael Fleming
San Francisco, California
March, 1993
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