Krestan, Pasciak 1

Kenny Krestan, Karl Pasciak

Mr. Frank
English 1030
19 September 2014
The Democratic Discourse Community
There are so many discourse communities in the world. They range from sports and
religion all the way to governments and politics. A discourse community is a community that
lives by certain codes, rules, and values that give people an identity and make them feel like they
belong. The Democratic party is a large discourse community. According to a poll conducted by
Gallup.com, approximately twenty six percent of United States citizens consider themselves to
be part of the Democratic party (Party Affiliation). Being in the Democratic party discourse
community makes up what they believe and how they live their lives as well.
The Democratic party is the oldest political party in the United States. They consider
themselves to be the party of the countless everyday Americans who work each day to build a
more perfect union (Our History). The party began as the Democratic-Republican Party, but
later split due to the opposing views on slavery within the party (Democratic Party). They have
consistently been on the front line of change in American culture with using power of the federal
government. A main belief of the Democratic Party is using government regulation to ensure
equity, and also having a party that relies on community responsibilities (Democrat vs.
Republicans). These beliefs lead to varying conversations based on the views of the individual.
Government regulation of business has its benefits and drawbacks, and could bring huge change
to the country. It could lead to people being unmotivated and relying on people to do things for
them, or it could keep the price of everything within reasonable ranges and remove monopolies

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on products. It has been said that when people own a business, and have a stake in said business,
they usually perform better than other companies with owners that do not have a vested interest
in the company, or if they can just be bailed out when the company bankrupts. The competitive
marketplace with minimum regulations make it so only the strong companies survive. These
beliefs consistently contradict the views of other parties, such as the Republican and Libertarian
parties, which define the Democratic party as its own discourse community.
The Democratic party has been in debate with other parties, such as the Republican party
and the Libertarian party, over controversial issues that deal with equality vs. equity. Though
voices differ between individuals in a party, through the actions of the Democratic party it can be
seen that they value equity more so than equality. As former President Bill Clinton explains at
the 2012 Democratic Convention in Charlotte, NC: "If you want a 'you're on your own, winner
take all' society you should support the Republican ticket. If you want a country of shared
opportunities and shared responsibilities - a 'we're all in it together' society, you should vote for
Barack Obama and Joe Biden" (Reuters). Though having a were all in it together society is a
very noble cause, it , like everything, has an opportunity cost.
To achieve equity among people, things, such as rights, money or opportunities, would
have to be taken and or given from people with more to people with less, reference Appendix B,
which is a satirical political advertisement for the Democratic party where an ambiguous stick
figure gives money to a homeless man. Equity vs. equality is a very controversial issue, and may
not always be the best policy. If equity could be attained at a point where everyone has
everything the could want or need, then equity would be warranted. But there are several
examples of failed attempts at achieving equity in the United States and in other countries. The
most notable attempt in United States history was by Robert Owen when he created a utopia

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called New Harmony in Indiana. Utopia was created to make a community where all work was
equal and all received the same compensation. They ended up building a free public school,
library and other groups as well. The community lasted for only two years before experiencing
economic failure (UShistory.org). Yet, this utopia pales in comparison to the ideology of
Communism and the nations united by the Soviet Union, which collapsed after seventy-four
years, most of which was spent in poverty by its citizens (History).
In the Democratic partys political advertisement for the November 2nd, elections in 2010,
see Appendix A, several rhetorical strategies have been employed to target the Asian American
and Pacific Islanders demographic and persuade them to vote Democrat when all of the United
States House of Representatives seats and a third of the Senates seats are up for reelection. The body of text on the left side of the advertisement asks the demographic to stand
with President Barrack Obama and the Democrats. They use stand with to illustrate and
suggest the reader is on the same level as the President, like they were playing on the same team
and he was the team captain. This text is large to attract the eye of the audience, while the
explanation of why the audience should vote Democrat is smaller, which indirectly signifies that
it is less important than actually doing what is said. Underneath in bold is VOTE
DEMOCRAT to MOVE AMERICA FORWARD which places emphasis on voting democrat
because they claim to be trying to move America forward. Lastly in the top right, in the largest
font in the advertisement, are the words VOTE 2010 with a picture of the head of the
Democratic party, President Barrack Obama, which is intended to make the audience associate
President Obama and the Democratic party to voting.

The Democratic party has been around longer than any other party. They have grown
stronger and have come up with some main proposals to follow in their democratic ad (see

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Appendix A). These proposals include tax cuts on the middle class, new job creation, and
supporting small businesses. With the presidents help, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
stand with Democrats to accomplish these values and push to see them succeed. By using Robert
Owens idea of an utopia, equity among people can be achieved by reaching these values and
America will grow moving one step closer to achieving the ultimate goal of the Democrats
which is moving America forward.

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Work Cited

Democratic Party. DNC ANNOUNCES UNPRECEDENTED INVESTMENT FOR THE

MIDTERM ELECTION IN ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER VOTERS.
N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2014
.<http://www.democrats.org/news/press/unprecedented_effort_reaching_out_to_aapi_vot
ers>.
"Democrat vs. Republican." Democrat vs Republican. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2014.
History. "Fall of the Soviet Union." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 16 Sept.
2014. <http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/fall-of-soviet-union>.
"Our History." Democrats.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2014.
"Party Affiliation." Gallup.Com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.
Reuters. "Voices from Charlotte: Best Quotes from the Democratic Convention." Reuters.
Thomson Reuters, 07 Sept. 2012. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/07/us-usa-campaign-quotesidUSBRE88607520120907>.
UShistory.org. "Experiments with Utopia." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d.
Web. 16 Sept. 2014. <http://www.ushistory.org/us/26b.asp>.

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Appendix A

Appendix B