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Rhetorical Analysis Of The Nothing To Hide Argument By Daniel J. Solove

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The “Nothing-to-Hide Argument” Analyzed: In this rhetorical analysis, I will be taking a look at Daniel J. Solove’s essay “The Nothing-to-Hide Argument,” which is about privacy in the context of personal information and government data collection (Solove 734). Solove’s main argument in his essay is that the general public has a narrow perception of what privacy really is. The purpose behind his main argument is to expose the problems with the nothing-to-hide argument while presenting a way to challenge it for his target audience, government officials. Solove’s argument to his target audience is effective through his exemplary use of substance, organization, and style in his essay. Solove’s great substance in his essay is due to the depth of his key points in his essay. He starts off with explaining the nothing-to-hide argument, which is this idea that if you have nothing to hide from government surveillance, you have nothing to fear (Solove 735). He then goes on to link this explanation of the nothing-to-hide-argument with his understanding of privacy. Solove’s understanding of privacy is that it does not have one singular essence that one can locate, but is made up of a plethora of different things that resemble …show more content…

These bullets are examples and responses to the nothing-to-hide argument. One such example is “Show me yours and I’ll show you mine (Solove 735).” Solove also makes use of some brilliant and precise words that add to his style. In particular, when Solove is describing the deeper problem with the nothing-to-hide argument, he explains that it is the fact that the nothing-to-hide argument “myopically” looks upon privacy as something one would want to hide (Solove 739). Such wording invokes curiosity in the reader, making the author’s argument more

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