Argument and Kairos

In reading the first two chapters of ARCS, I found a lot of interesting points that were either completely new or refreshers on topics I have learned about previously.
I found it especially interesting in the text where Crowley & Hawhee (C&H) state the following:

...People who live in democracies must undertake productive argument with one another, because failure to do so can have serious consequences, ranging from inaction on important issues, such as global warming, to taking serious action such as going to war (4).

I don't know if this is something personal, or if others may feel this way, but it seems as if argument is something we all tend to avoid like the plague. Whether it is argument among friends about a political issue or argument between a couple about money problems, people have negative perceptions of arguments. This probably stems from our own bad experiences where people started yelling, feelings were hurt and people realized they were wrong or ignorant of a certain issue. It is difficult to be involved in arguments because what we may hold near and dear may be called in to question by someone else or we may realize what we thought we knew was far from accurate.
I completely agree with the authors of ARCS that argument on a grand scale or a small scale is extremely important for our society. I never considered it the way C&H state it that if we avoid disagreement ... "in the interests of preserving good manners, we risk undermining the principles on which our democratic community is based," (6). I was also impressed by the notion "...that every party to the discussion be aware that beliefs may change during the exchange and discussion of points of view," (6). Therein lays one of the issues of rhetoric, however. People stubbornly hold on to beliefs and opinions and will refuse to hear another person's opinion or argument. But if the rhetor is properly equipped, he will accomplish the point of rhetoric: to change opinions (C&H, 16). This is a powerful statement. The main point of rhetoric is to change opinions which in turn will change beliefs, this can lead to action and may start a movement and change the way a community functions.
Another topic discussed in our readings which made an impression on me was kairos. I never knew about this “other” kind of time aside from what we are all used to as chronological time. I can relate to this through my part-time career as a professional disc jockey. When I am DJ’ing, I can’t just throw on any song I feel like and expect people to dance. There is a right time for every song. It is common among disc jockeys to “save” certain songs for later in the evening when people are dancing and the mood is just right. Let’s say that these “special” songs are played all back-to-back at the very beginning of the night: sure, everyone will dance, but what about when the 10-15 songs are over? At that point, there may still be another 3-4 hours to fill and no one will dance anymore. Or let’s consider the opposite: save these songs for the end of the night. People will get bored and restless and may actually leave before these songs are ever played. Kairos is what a good DJ will take advantage of when it comes to playing certain hit songs.
This can also be applied to everyday life, not just in DJ’ing a party or in “formal” discussions. A child who has a bad report card may wait until mom and dad are settled in and relaxed before showing them their bad marks. Or a couple who is about to part ways after a first date might try to figure out kairos for a first kiss. Or kairos may come in to play in the common phrase we have all heard, “It’s now or never.”
I enjoyed reading the different concepts and topics in the first two chapters of ARCS and I look forward to the rest of the chapters. I also look forward to discussing the posts of others.