Thirty years ago we argued that contemporary rhetorical thought imbued moral and rhetorical imperatives into the critic’s responsibilities. In subsequent years, critics have worked diligently to engage rhetoric’s power in the ongoing social order. In this essay, we argue that changes in political practices and media systems over the intervening years have intensified the urgency for such criticism. First, we consider the consequences of changes in the media ecology and political practices on the quality of public and civic life. Second, we illustrate in President Donald Trump’s arguments regarding immigration, an especially toxic political rhetoric that betrays democratic values and threatens to undermine our democratic community. Third, we offer a vision of cosmopolitanism as a rhetorical mode to restore democratic values.

中文翻译：

---

重新审视作为道德行为的修辞批评：一个国家的道德和修辞势在必行

三十年前，我们认为当代修辞思想将道德和修辞的要求灌输给批评家的责任。在随后的几年中，批评家们一直在努力使修辞学的力量参与到正在进行的社会秩序中。在本文中，我们认为在过去的几年中，政治实践和媒体系统的变化加剧了这种批评的紧迫性。首先，我们考虑媒体生态和政治实践的变化对公共和公民生活质量的影响。第二，我们在唐纳德·特朗普总统关于移民的论据中说明，这是一种特别有害的政治言论，背叛了民主价值观，并有可能破坏我们的民主社区。第三，我们提出了世界主义的愿景，将其作为恢复民主价值观的修辞模式。