Appeal to emotion... How politicians use it to cause division

[AgnosticBoy]

Here's a good article that demonstrates a explains how a politician would appeal to emotion...

Politicians appeal to voters’ emotions because it’s an easy way to impact the greatest number of people with one statement. A politician could talk about the potential negative implications of a policy, and some people could feel like they’re not personally affected by anything mentioned.

However, let’s say the politician said, “My opponent’s plan to cut spending will negatively impact your mother or grandmother who depend on social security to have money to live.”

This statement will resonate with many people in a very emotional way–certainly more than, “cutting spending will increase intergovernmental competition for revenues.” The politician likely chose this particular point because of its emotional appeal, but he left out any evidence of proof that cutting spending would have a direct impact on your mom’s life.

Source: Connie Mathers

Now instead of the politician bringing up your mom or grandmother, if he really wanted to turn things up, he could also bring in race, patriotism, sexuality, morality, etc. And then the issue turns into a heated issue, ready to cause division or polarization.