Question

Which quotation about America’s low morale is based on fallacious reasoning? “This is the direct cause of the long lines which have made millions of you spend aggravating hours waiting for gasoline.” “For the first time in the history of our country a majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years.” “On the battlefield of energy we can win for our Nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny.” “. . .we've gone from a position of energy independence to one in which almost half the oil we use comes from foreign countries. . .”

Answer 1

The quotation involving fallacious reasoning is the one that asserts the majority of Americans believe the future will be worse than the past, as it is an appeal to belief rather than a statement supported by concrete evidence.

Step-by-step explanation:

The quotation that is based on fallacious reasoning is likely: “For the first time in the history of our country a majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years.” This statement employs a logical fallacy called appeal to belief, where the argument is made that a premise is true because many people believe it to be true, rather than based on concrete evidence or reasoning. The statement does not provide factual support for its claim about Americans' beliefs regarding their future and instead relies on the supposed beliefs of the majority to argue that morale is low.

The other quotations either state causative factors for low morale, such as long lines for gasoline or a change in energy dependence, or present a goal or aspiration related to energy confidence and control. These statements provide a more factual or direct claim that can be debated or supported with data, unlike the fallacious appeal to majority belief presented in the problematic quote.

Answer 2

The correct answer is the first option "This is the direct cause of the long lines which have made millions of you spend aggravating hours waiting for gasoline.” Fallacious reasoning is the use of an invalid rationale for the construction of an argument, which can be used intentionally or as a cause of ignorance. In this case, the waiting for the lack of gasoline had been exagerated by stating that "millions of you spend aggravating hours waiting for gasoline." This statement implies that at least 2 million people had spent at least 2 hours waiting for gasoline, data which seems very unlikely and hard to prove.