On Radical Friendliness: Productive Citizenship in an Age of Division

ABSTRACT

This essay addresses the deep division and antagonism in political culture, focusing on rhetorical approaches to citizenship conducive to an agonistic pluralism where a multiplicity of viewpoints exist under a larger framework of cooperation. Specifically, it draws on a diverse set of ideas within the rhetorical tradition and popular culture to examine and advocate for “radical friendliness” as a positive and potentially transformative mode of interaction. Friendliness—the observable, rhetorical dimension of friendship—is geared toward identification and consubstantiality and as such, provides one path toward a more productive democratic community.

Notes

1. The author would like to thank RR reviewers Nathan Crick and Andrew King for their insightful feedback on this essay. The author would also like to thank editor Elise Hurley for her guidance throughout the publication process. Finally, the author would like to acknowledge Ohio Northern University for funding and supporting this project through a summer research grant.

2. See the Fred Rogers Center website for an outline of Rogers’ values, http://www.fredrogerscenter.org/about-us/mission-beliefs-core-values/. Recent or forthcoming films include the independent documentary Mister Rogers & Me, the larger budget documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor, and the forthcoming biopic You Are My Friend, starring Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jeffrey St. Onge

Jeffrey St. Onge is an Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Ohio Northern University. His research focuses on rhetoric and media, with a particular interest in how rhetorical criticism can be used to shape political culture toward more productive ends. His work has appeared in Rhetoric and Public Affairs, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, and Rhetoric Review, among other venues.