In "The Courtier," Pietro
Bembo states: "...Love is simply a certain longing to possess beauty; and
since this longing can only be for things are known already, knowledge must
always of necessity precede desire..." In relation to the printing press
and other inventions circa the Renaissance era, the mass production of rhetoric
(knowledge) changed the desire (mindset) of every society; however, this was only
possible if the governing force of that society allowed the production of that
rhetorical knowledge.
For example, Peter the Great of Russia
created a precedent of strict control over the country and forbade customs that deviated
from the vision of Russia he had of Russia (Drogin). Meanwhile, the American
colonies were based on a free-for-all society, where if a religious or
financial institution attempted strict control, there was plenty of other space
to create one’s own institution. Therefore, while Russian leaders filtered more
undesirable rhetoric out of their society, American ideals were based on freedom
of speech and expression, creating drastically different pools of perspective
and opinion.
Joey Franklin’s essay “The Lifespan of
a Kiss” further exemplifies how rhetoric creates differing desires in different societies. In
the 20th century, France offered to display the now world
famous sculpture from French sculptor Augeste Rodin aptly named “The Kiss” in Tokyo but Japan refused
the offer, not because of the nakedness but the gesture of kissing. Japan told
the French that they would put the sculpture on display if a cloth was placed
solely over the faces of the kissing couple. France refused: “morally, the
French just couldn’t allow it” (Franklin).
The reason for this denial from Japan, as Franklin writes, is that the Japanese
don’t kiss in the open, their romance novels and soap operas never portray
kissing, meanwhile France is stereo-typically known for their vehement displays and literature of romance and expressions of the body.; essentially, varying rhetoric creates differing, collective desires for an entire country.
