“Argument has never been the sole guarantee of cultural sanity, nor the all-in-one solution on the quest for the golden balance between freedom and social justice. In fact, one could argue that argument and democracy share the distinction of remaining the best two unfulfilled promises of history. And yet those of us who teach continue to hope, because we know that the good argument, the one that supports its claims with tight-knit reasons, solid evidence, well-linked warrants, and a healthy dose of humility in the face of dissension, THAT argument makes myth, ideology, propaganda, slogans, and the whole lot of the rhetorical vices quake at the core. As a teacher of argument, one of the most radical things that I can do in class is leave overt discussion of my political ideas out of the equation and focus on the principles of good argumentation (many of my students still wonder where I fall on the spectrum). No wonder the enemies of argument are legion.”
— Alex Gil, “What do we teach when we teach writing?”
