American democracy is perishing, and in order to address this trend, we must improve our perceptive and communicative abilities. To begin, this thesis examines the different influences that affect the behavior of American voters, some of which are innately political and some that are not. American polarization, social media, the two-party system, human hardwiring, and a general lack of incentive to engage are all examined at length to set the table for solutions. Solutions, in the context of this thesis, are not policy solutions but rather internal solutions. Given that democracy is such a participatory process, it appears most useful to provide tangible, personal takeaways. By exploring how to harness the power of influence, epistemic humility, open-mindedness, and appropriate media consumption, we have the tools necessary to pursue a more refined free speech society and democracy. If democracy is something the American collective is interested in preserving, we must adjust the way we process the world, and in this thesis, the foundations are set for a more productive democracy.

Using models identified by communications scholars Herbert W. Simons and Charles J. Stewart, a rhetorical analysis was conducted on contemporary Tea Party Movement (TPM) artifacts in an attempt to gauge the movement's authenticity as it relates to grassroots advocacy versus astroturfing. The models provided a theoretical framework in which the functions of social movement leaders were analyzed, as well as the rhetorical phases of a movement. Additionally, the notions of advocacy and astroturfing were defined and the concepts compared and contrasted. Used in conjunction with one another the models provided a framework in which TPM artifacts could be analyzed. Analysis was conducted on the websites for the Tea Party Patriots and Tea Party Express, a one-month sample of Sarah Palin FaceBook posts, two speeches delivered by Michelle Bachmann, and finally one speech given by Palin. Examples for each of the necessary rhetorical components identified were found within TPM sources, thus leading to the conclusion that the TPM operates primarily as a grassroots advocacy movement.