Stasis: Value - George W. Bush 1911 Address

George W. Bush’s address to America after 1911 used the stasis of “Value” in order to sway his American audience and discredit the terrorist group Al-Qaida . The beginning of his speech expressed his condolences to the families and millions of other lives that have suffered as a result of 1911. He used the value of American Patriotism in order to rally together his audience and inspire confidence in the then shocked and shaken Americans. Disbelief, anger, and frustration were all feelings that America felt. “Why do they hate us?” the Americans asked. Bush rebuked Al Qaida: “They hate our freedoms: our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.” Some may argue that Al-Qaida is simply following their faith and is to be respected for their dedication, however Bush accuses these terrorists of being “traitors to their own faith, trying, in effect, to hijack Islam itself.” Bush used “Value” in order to paint Al-Qaida as hypocrites that have besmirched Islam and terrorists that have killed innocent people. Simultaneously, he used “Value” in order to boost American morale and to reassure the Americans that just retribution will be delivered.

Ethos though George W. Bush's speech

The event of 9-11 was critical in shaping George W. Bush’s administration; after a very close election in 2000, that went so far as to require a Supreme Court case, Bush’s status of President was already slightly shaken. The Republican platform on which Bush ran in 2000 held very isolationist values in terms of foreign affairs. He believed that the US had overextended American troops overseas and claimed that he wanted to abridge American interventionism abroad. The events of 9-11 steered the course of the administration in a very different direction than originally planned with the inception of the Patriot Act and the War in Iraq. President Bush was very much perceived as a credible source as a graduate of both Harvard and Yale University, so the reception of this speech didn’t primarily hinge on the appeal of his ethos. Yet, the manner in which he establishes ethics in his speech leave a lasting impact on the America we see today. Overall, I find that Bush ethically presented an argument to the American populous while still very much accounting for the emotionally component of the situation. He says that the American government intents to see the destruction and defeat of the global terror network, a claim that is only substantiated by his ethos. When addressing the American people he reassured them to remain calm, stay patient, and acknowledges future national challenges stemming from the terrorist attack itself. Overall Bush’s speech relates very much to exigency and the concept of kairos, in that this speech held a lot of weight to a startled national within the context of an unprecedented trauma.

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Ethos during JFK's Cuban Missile Crisis Speech

John F. Kennedy’s credibility as President of the United States is certainly a factor in how important American citizens perceive his statements to be. Listening to a speech that indicates a chance of total destruction, like the Cuban Missile Crisis speech for instance, only becomes harrowing once a trustworthy source is presenting those claims. As the 35th President of America, JFK’s speech on October 22nd, 1962 carried a lot of weight and still has an impression upon generations of Americans. His reference to intentional Soviet deception affirms his political finesse with the use of field language. JFK presents an ethical evaluation of Soviet Union’s actions, he indicates time and time again during his speech that the United States has continually held Cuba under close surveillance with clear evidence of its military buildup. The speech itself undoubtedly is influenced by John F. Kennedy’s ethos.

Stasis: Action - JFK's Cuban Missile Crisis Speech

John F. Kennedy’s speech regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis employed the use of the fourth stasis, action. The beginning of his speech conveyed a sense of urgency, a sort of imminence that threatened the peace of not just the United States, but of the world. Kennedy emphasized the danger that the Soviet Union imposed and called for action, not to bear arms towards the U.S.S.R., but rather an action towards peace and unity. Kennedy warned his listeners that inaction would lead to conflict, and eventually war. He referenced the World Wars, saying, “The 1930’s taught us a clear lesson: aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged, ultimately leads to war.” Kennedy stressed that the U.S. would maintain a “policy…of patience and restraint,” but the Soviet Unions’ actions were unable to be ignored. Kennedy reached out to the captive people of Cuba and tried to explain that the Cuban leaders were no longer inspired by Cuban ideals. He implored them to take action if they wanted to keep their national identity, to keep their pride, and to keep the peace. He then told the citizens of the United States to be steadfast and warned, “the greatest danger of all would be to do nothing.” Kennedy used the stasis of action in his speech by conveying a sense of urgency to his audience and called for them to act in order to keep peace and order.

Logos in JFK's Cuban Missile Crisis Speech

JFK's Cuban Missile Crisis speech employed logos in order to properly convey a message to the listeners.  JFK opens first with the reiteration of his promise to have Cuba monitored, and that this monitoring was increased once there was hard proof that Russian involvement on the island was exceeding basic self-defense aid, which was the original extent of aid as promised by the USSR.  He goes on to explain how the base was constructed and what the potential US missile targets were.  Throughout the speech, JFK also goes on to explain how the actions taken by the USSR are in direct opposition with what the USSR had said that they were doing and that these were a safety hazard to the USA.  After making all of this abundantly clear, he then presented his proposals for the USSR to stop this conflict.  JFK manages in this way to explain step by step as to why the missiles are bad, why they are wrong, and then what needs to be done about them.

Audience in Bush's 9/11 Speech

Bush's address to congress was to all of America, in fact, bush even starts his article out as "Mr. Speaker, Mr. President Pro Tempore, members of Congress, and fellow Americans:. He then goes into detail about the terrorist actions and explains who al-Qaida is. Most of the higher government officials already knew this, but the American people were left in the dark up to this point. It was up to the president to carefully direct their fear of 9/11 into something else: in this case a pledge to stop world terrorists. Had no one come out and told the  American people what exactly happened there would be mass havoc. Bush was pleading  to make sure that congress let him start the war on terrorism and wanted the publics support: he succeeded and connected with his audience, and to this day we still fight terrorism all around the globe.

Audience - JFK's Cuban Missile Crisis Speech

John F Kennedy's  address to the nation about the Cuban missile crisis was not directed to the nation like most people thought. The people who saw this address can be split into three categories: the people of USA, the soviet union and the rest of the world. For the nation of United States, this meant taking the risk of informing everyone of what could be impending disaster. the average citizen already feared nuclear destruction, and this just fueled it more. In fact, many people started stocking up on food and water provisions.  They knew the capabilities of nuclear weapons and that at that time they were unstoppable. The American people were not the only ones who saw this address, so did the international community  . By saying that " Our own strategic missiles have never been transferred to the territory of any other nation under a cloak of secrecy and deception" he convinced other countries that the soviets move of putting rockets in Cuba was inching closer to what could be world destruction by nuclear war. This made the international opinion of the soviets (and thus in return communism) less appealing. Personally, I think JFK and his cabinet thought this all through and understood the video's true audience was the Soviets, they would have analyzed that their public opinion will decrease if they don't move the Rockets, and understood that if they don't move the rockets not as many countries will accept communism. Even if they kept them there, the international community would have stopped providing them in trade deals that would have hurt the soviets economical model at the time (this would be called international pressure).

Pathos of George Bush's Speech

George Bush invokes pathos in the audience by first sending a message of unity, strength and togetherness to the American people. Stating examples where "a loving and giving people who have made the grief of strangers their own" helped their fellow Americans, he sends a message that Americans treat each other like family, creating a bond between all who were affected by these attacks. His use of words and diction further suggest that the country is in mourning and is only held together by the values of love, peace and patriotism that all human beings intrinsically possess. He hopes to capture the sympathies of the world, and hopes many people will join in mourning and in vigil. Next, he describes the brutal tactics of al-Qaida, particularly describing Afghanistan where many "people have been brutalized, many are starving and many have fled." He sees a humanitarian purpose for identifying and ousting these radicals, and hopes to win support by describing the hardship and imprisonment of the peaceful people of an underdeveloped country. When answering the question of what is expected of the American people, he asks them to "live their lives and hug their children." He further emphasizes the values of love and compassion that are dear to Americans, and wants the people to persevere and give everything they are asked for the government. Sending a message of safety by claiming that "this country will define our times, not be defined by them," the president wants people to be at ease, but know that they are now in a war. He appeals to the emotion of the listener's in order for them to continue to live their lives and to be steadfast and unwavering in the face of a war.

Pathos on JFK's Missile Crisis Speech

John F Kennedy's speech on the Cuban Missile Crisis invokes the pathos of his audience in a multitude of ways. In the opening paragraph he uses concrete language by calling Cuba an "imprisoned island," and emphasizing that it has "nuclear strike capability." Further on, he describes the two types of installations and the firepower they possess, creating a feeling of dread and urgency as he outlines the range of targets. Describing nuclear weapons as "so destructive and ballistic missiles as so swift", his appeal to pathos relies on presenting the threat clearly and unmistakably, telling the American people that they should be worried and afraid of such circumstances. He uses the analogy of the 1930's teaching the United States a lesson on "aggressive conduct" in order to warn that if a power is left unchecked and appeased, (Germany) war will come. Taking the stance of being opposed to war and in favor of "patience and restraint," JFK urges the United States to remain on the moral high ground, appealing to their sense of humanity and desire for continued peace. He contrasts the United States from the Soviet Union, making the point that American's are the good guys and have a global mission of peace and prosperity. Finally, in his closing message to the Cuban people, he invokes pathos in them by offering his condolences that their country has been corrupted and subject to the interest's of a global superpower. He proclaims that he understands their plight, and appeals to their emotion. He wishes they could have the power to hold free elections, have free speech, to own land and to live in prosperity alongside their American neighbors. By stepping out of his own presidential shoes and analyzing things from the Cuban's perspective, he hopes to be seen as a brother to the people of Cuba, and gain their love and respect.

Kairos in Bush's 9/11 Speech

On September 11, 2016, terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers and damaged the Pentagon using hijacked airliners.  President George W. Bush gave a speech 9 days later addressing how he would attend to the issues at hand.  Here, his kairos is perhaps not the best.  His speech, according to our source's prologue, was "well anticipated", which is the nice way of saying that he took too long.  Considering that this was the largest terrorist attack to happen in the US, he should have responded within the day or at least within the week.  This destroys some of his kairos by being late in comparison to the event and its scale.  However, it still has kairos in that it still happened within a reasonable time period to a point that it is still incredibly effective in portraying its message.  Bush additionally places demands on the Taliban that he expects them to follow immediately.  This gives Americans an idea of what is happening in real time, and helped to give time credibility to the speech.

Kairos in JFK's Cuban Missile Crisis Speech

JFK's speech on the Cuban Missile Crisis was made to American public as soon as the government had confirmed that Cuba was receiving nuclear missiles and the resources to build launch sites from the Soviet Union.  This announcement, made in the time known as the Cold War when the USA and the USSR engaged in arms races and new covert operations, shows a lot of kairos.  Kairos is the lesser-known pillar of communication that refers to the timeliness of a writing or speech.  JFK's speech about the Cuban Missile Crisis employed kairos to add urgency and meaning to the issue.  With the Red Scare and McCarthyism having just happened, this added more tension to a time period where nuclear chaos was a real possibility in the minds of people around the globe.  JFK even references a public statement made by Russia that they were simply enabling Cuba to defend themselves, and a meeting with a foreign minister that reassured him of the same things, only to have them proven false.  JFK also explains the steps he has taken in real time to battle this issues, giving Americans to think about that were happening right as they were listening to the speech.  All of these factors help to give this speech importance through kairos.

Text 2: Bush's speech after 9-11

Link can be found here

Text 1: Cuban Missile Crisis

Link can be found here