Dilemma (di-lem’-ma): Offering to an opponent a choice between two (equally unfavorable) alternatives.
A. Welcome! You have chosen to work at the most prestigious restaurant in New York City. Here at Bitter Herbs, we strive to empower our employees by giving them options. Every day you will be offered two work assignments and YOU get to choose one! People at their best make their own choices. We all know that being free, the highest aspiration of all sane human beings, is about making choices, not being dictated to by a cruel overseer. Now, you may don your rubber gloves and exercise your sacred right to choose. Which will it be: scrubbing floors in the kitchen or washing pots and pans? The choice is yours—nobody’s telling you which task to choose. You are free to decide on your own. You are empowered. You have agency. You are part of the team.
B. Hey—what if I’d rather wait on tables?
A. We have low tolerance for rebels. If you insist on posing your own alternatives, you will be terminated. It is your choice.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
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