Rhetoric really needs to be restored as a teaching subject in schools.

Hear hear!

Of course, if they started teaching rhetoric the plebes might be able to recognize when it's being used against them. Next thing you know and we'll be teaching them about logical fallacies. Maddness! Last thing we want is a population that can actually deconstruct an argument (they'd stop buying all our stuff) or, heavens forbid, even construct their own and make it persuasive (they might, y'know, run for office and stop the country being run into the ground or something).