Logical Fallacies

Bandwagon appeals. Example: Everyone else drinks and drives, so I can too.

We do see a lot of examples of drinking and driving in this day and age. Celebrities are constantly in the media for getting DUIs, and we see people leaving bars all the time who we know should not be driving. It seems that everyone drives themselves after having a few drinks, so we can too. It seems like there is no harm in it. However, we know what can happen when people drink and drive. The worst case scenario would be killing an innocent person, but jail time is also probable when committing this crime. And after the first offense, consequences become a lot more serious than just a night in jail. The reality is that there probably are quite a few people who drink and drive, but not everyone does it. And even if it did, this does not make it right. Regardless of how often it is done by other people, the risks do not become less. In fact, the more people that do, the more dangerous the streets are for everyone else. Everyone else really isn't doing it, and it is not the right thing to do.

Polarization. Example: All Christians are crazy.

Just as the file states, polarization is very much like name calling. Calling all Christians crazy is definitely an exaggeration and a way of representing them that is extreme. No one can deny that there are "Christians" that most people would consider crazy. One example of this would be the Phelps family. Their message and tactics are ones that most Christians would consider offensive, and yet they still calls themselves Christians. They picket funerals, make small children stand on the streets holding signs depicting sexual acts, and insult many of the people they come in contact with. Most people consider them extreme and crazy, and perhaps not even consider them to be Christian. However, just because the Phelps family is extreme does not mean that all Christians behave this way. In fact, the vast majority do not. We would consider them just as normal as any other person on the street. Generalizing everyone to be one way is not only completely not factual, but ignorant.

Rationalization. Example: I wouldn't have been late to work if I hadn't hit all the stoplights on the way.

This is a weak excuse, one your boss has probably heard a hundred times. Everyone else at your job had the potential to hit the same lights, but they were on time. The reality is that you probably either woke up late, or took to long to get ready. Perhaps you would have been on time if you hadn't hit that last light, but it was your fault for cutting it that close in the first place. If a few lights made you late, that meant you left absolutely no margin for error, and need to leave the house earlier. It is not the stoplight's fault or traffic's fault, because there is no one to blame for being late but yourself. And someone who makes an excuse as weak as this tends to chronically face the same issue. Avoid the issue in the future by leaving the house ten minutes sooner, and you will not be late.