by Burke McKay

Created on: July 29, 2008

Human induced global warming; is it reality or a campaign to impose global taxation without representation, deteriorate sovereignty, and draw the nations of this planet into a centralized, globalized, socialized governmental system? Uh oh, wait just a moment, it isn't "global warming" anymore, it is now called Climate Change, but has anyone thought about why they changed the terminology?

"Ad Hominem" arguments/attacks are the first indication that a position cannot be backed up. Advertisements today don't talk about the "reality of global warming", but what this, or that, company is doing to correct this problem; which keeps bringing the topic to mind in all who see the advertisements. This is a technique called "repetition" and it serves to maintain a level of discomfort/fear in the population, making them more inclined to accept the arguments for human induced climate change. This is a variation of the Ad Hominem attack, but instead of attacking through rhetoric those who deny the "human" part they are actually attacking the target audience's inherent skepticism and reinforcing the point. Denouncements of those who maintain that humans have little or no effect on the climate as being the same as "Holocaust Deniers" puts them in the same category as the President of Iran, and who wants to agree with him. This technique is really quite common; present the problem so that the reaction agrees with the solution you wish to present, overcome objections through degradation of opposition {Ad Hominem attacks}, and close the sale.

Advertisements don't present both sides of an issue, only the side of the one trying to sell a product or idea. It is up to the customer to research and think it through for themselves, or buy the product/idea based on the manufactured urgency of the moment. This is how sales people earn a living, and if you desire proof call an insurance agent to come by and sell you a policy. He/she will use the exact technique described above, and if he/she is successful you'll be paying $1200/year for a policy which will yield that agent $600 in his/her paycheck. Caveat Emptor!

Now that you know something about the techniques that are being used on you, let's take another look at "An Inconvenient Infomercial". Just because a program is produced to appear as a documentary doesn't mean it should be taken at face value, nor does it mean that the information is factual and undistorted. Neither should it be assumed that because certain awards are given to it

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