Howie Carr's Propagand How Not To Be Bamboozled

The very tiresome and grueling yet somehow satisfying manic-speed of life today has undeniable repercussions. There is the satisfaction of being busy towards the point where doing nothing seems to be a punishment instead of a reward. Then, there is the frustration of not being busy enough, constantly looking for more things to do, constantly looking and never finding what it is that makes one contented, this will then most likely lead to “Emotional Distress” (ED) (Carr 1). Howie Carr’s piece “Take $2000 and Call Me in the Morning” argues the misuse of ED as a gateway to money. At first glance, his work could be considered as a credible and humorous piece. However, applying Donna Woolfolk Cross’s strategies in “Propaganda: How Not To Be Bamboozled” show that Carr’s composition

can be regarded as unreliable because of the three most apparent and conniving stratagems he utilizes: “Guilt or Glory by Association,” “Card Stacking,” and “Begging the Question.” Carr first uses “Guilt or Glory by Association” when he refers to “legal tender” (1) with a negative connotation.

He then uses “Card Stacking” by simply extracting the ludicrous lawsuits that support his argument while disregarding the other lawsuits that were filed for ED. Finally, he uses “Begging the Question” when he simply stated the lawsuits with his biased descriptions without bothering to elaborate the stories behind them.
One of Cross’ strategies of propaganda Carr uses in “Take $2000 and Call Me in the Morning” is “Guilt Or Glory By Association” and he exemplifies this by his statement “thank goodness this new malady is treatable – with massive doses of legal tender” (1). He establishes the negative connotation of money with his sarcastic use of “thank goodness” by giving it a very condescending

tone while undermining the word “malady” (Carr 1). It’s as if he wants ED to be regarded as unimportant and as a simple disease that is easily remedied. Since money is seen in a negative light because of corruption and greed, he uses this to make the readers undermine the people who have been diagnosed with ED. He pushes the idea that this disease isn’t really a disease at all but a way to get money. Moreover, Carr’s use of different terms for money like “greenbacks” and “pictures of George Washington” (1) has a very derogatory tone that implies the ridiculousness of the lawsuits he presented. He makes the readers think about the economical side while disregarding the psychological side of things. Which in turn, makes the reader think about the absurdity of the anecdotes while disregarding the story behind Carr’s mere description. The reader will most likely disregard any sympathy they had for the people with the disease because they’ve been given the idea that these people have been treated by being “prescribed” money. Carr makes the readers believe that the disease is no longer present in the people who have been given money and that there is no deeper story for these people…. Elaborate how he also uses “guilt or glory by association” for the cases, he handpicked the cases which sounded sympathetic at first then he smashes that sympathy by stating the amount the people received.