Rhetorical Influence: Sociopolitical Manipulation

The State of the Union Address issued on the 29th of January 2002 was the first such address by George W. Bush during his tenure as President of the United States of America. This address is an excellent example of the rhetorical influence a political leader may wield through careful selection of language.

The State of the Union Address is used by American presidents to report on the actions and well-being of the country, typically in an effort to connect with the American people and explain events or ideas. While the entirety of the message emanates from his position of leadership with strong ethos support, President Bush makes use of logos and pathos elements in his January 2002 address to enhance the influence of his message in finding acceptance and following among his citizen audience.

Through his words, the American President continually encourages the remembrance of tragedy as the scope for perspective when considering his ideas and motivations for leading the government. Fear and remorse cultivated through this tactic inspire strong feelings of community among the ethnic groups of American people that then expose them to behavioral suggestion and subtle social instruction. This vulnerability allows a national leader like the President to control their citizens through means that include the degradation of the perception and standing of people in certain cultures and ethnic groups within the eyes of society.

In his opening words, President Bush immediately creates a feeling of desperate need for optimism in the face of fear and danger by utilizing pathos elements of descriptive imagery with distinctly emphasized, albeit oddly disparately-directed, emotional weight and pathos elements. He expresses that "our nation is at war" and "our economy is in recession," but continues with the endearing announcement that "the state of our Union has never been stronger." This preface precludes the socially-influential piece that follows, focusing on the positive aspects of America's status and rosy futuristic goals evidenced in tertiary paragraphs of the President's address that pander to beacons of American pride and joy — heroic patriotism exhibited by citizens and military personnel.

As the address continues, the President's tone builds on the optimistic and patriotic fervor generated by his opening lines, launching into rhetorical discussion of terrorism and America's foreign policy as it pertains therein, thereby invoking strong logos appeal. His monologue discusses "terrorist training camps" in foreign nations — either state-sponsored or otherwise — and he focuses his examples on countries in Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East. Bosnia is the only somewhat-Western nation mentioned as cooperating with the wishes of the American government with regard to policing foreign terrorism, while countries like Iraq and Iran are demonized for their pursuit of "weapons and terror." These constricted examples, combined with geographical and cultural distance from the regions described, create a thereby-reasonable basis for accusations against countries in those regions. In addition to direct condemnation of cultures and nations for actions abroad, an example later in this address describes a would-be airline terrorist with particular mention of the man's ties to al Qaeda. This stirs the audience with memories of the group that is claimed to have orchestrated the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon buildings in the autumn of 2001.

With the emotions of his audience fully invoked, the President begins seven logos-driven, pathos-loaded paragraphs that constitute a sine wave of rhetorically-influential linguistic techniques to fully amplify sympathy with his prescribed objectives. He first asserts that "time is not on our side" for fulfilling his patriotic agenda, and that he "will not stand by as peril draws closer and closer," insinuating an aggressive motion toward fulfilling his goals that in a campaign that "must be waged on our watch." This invokes an image of a strong, capable leader with the power of the nation at his back. Next, Bush subtly pleads with his audience, chiding that "we can't stop short" and that "if we stop now ... our sense of security would be false and temporary." These words evoke an image of a parent gently scolding a child; the President's language implies danger in differing from his plans and objectives, much the way a parent would suggest that a child not touch a stove because it could burn them. After captivating the full attention of his audience, the President returns to alternating assertiveness and reasoning for four more paragraphs, invoking images of patriotism, 9/11, and responsible budget concerns. He reiterates the "need" to fight the global war against terror, and arrives at the conclusion that his budget, with the largest increase in Department of Defense spending "in two decades," is necessary because "whatever it costs to defend our country, we will pay." Through his reasoning and skilled use of verbiage, President Bush utilizes the rhetorical techniques of pathos and logos appeal to grasp his audience emotionally and logically, imparting upon them the belief that his action plan is the indisputably true and patriotic direction the country should follow.

The President's rhetoric continues, pursuing support for foreign policy goals and agendas that promote isolationism and a hostile social mindset. While Bush first states that America's interests are for itself and its allies in a call for international cooperation, he asserts in an immediately-following sentence that America must look out for itself and its own citizens. President Bush also uses his address to promote the emotionally-charged idea that America fights against an "axis of evil" — a rallying cry reminiscent of the Second World War that clearly encourages allegiance from other "Western" nations in the American President's global campaign against terror. In addition to degrading America's international relations, this further encourages the detriment of the image and perspective of the nations and people of the Middle East. This degradation of image and perspective pave e way for hostility among the American citizenry against ethnic groups and cultures represented from the regions targeted abroad.

Compounding upon goals of alienation and isolation, the President's speech makes allusions to "increased intelligence" manifested in documentation and inspection of "visitors to the United States," including "technology to track (their) arrivals and departures." Combined with "increased border enforcement" and "strengthened security of air travel," the President avidly promotes the image of an increasingly militaristic America with less of the trust and freedom he espouses in juxtaposition with these policies. This contributes to the undertone of domestic hostility and discrimination promoted by this address and encourages distance and suspicion in domestic relations among the American people.

The implications of the discrimination espoused through President Bush's skill rhetorical utility re numerous, and will continue to evolve as time progresses. Through his words as the leader of America, ethnic stereotyping and classification under the rallying cry against terrorism have led to racial, religious, and ethnic profiling in airports and other secure installations, as well as social discrimination and implicit fear omnipresent in social groupings, gatherings, and interactions. The words and actions of this President, summarily described in his January 2002 State of the Union Address — reinforced by rhetorical ethos, logos, and pathos appeal — lead America ever closer toward a dangerous social implosion of distrust, fear, and prejudice.

References

  • Bush, George H. W. "The State of the Union." Washington, D.C: 29 January 2002.
    Accessed on 20 September 2007 <http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2002/>.

Citation

Eckert, Daniel C. Rhetorical Influence: Sociopolitical Manipulation. (2007, October).