Wk 5 Team - American Rhetoric in the 21st Century Language Essay

American Rhetoric in the 21st Century
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American Rhetoric in the 21st Century
America is one of the mature democratic countries that give its citizens the right to participate in an electoral process and elect the leader of their choice. However, the possibility of an American political candidate to be voted for as a leader relies heavily on the rhetoric or speeches made by the individual. Voters in the 21st century have been keen on the speeches made by the political candidates which is why the individuals need to up their games during campaigns to increase their chances of being elected by the people (Charteris-Black, 2011). It is well known that ideas and ideologies in political campaigns must be expressed through speeches. A well polished speech with effective manifestos increases the chance of a candidate to become the president of the United States in this twenty-first century. Many American presidents have used rhetorical devices like speeches during their campaigns to persuade the citizens to vote for them (AbdulGhannyIdrees et al., 2019). However, others have failed to use these devices. Whether or not the use of appropriate rhetoric is effective in political campaigns has been a major concern. The truth is that the twenty-first American political rhetoric is both appropriate and inappropriate depending on how the candidates deliver their speeches to attract the audience.
Many American presidents such as former President Barack Obama have used successful and appropriate rhetoric in the twenty-first century. One of his works that demonstrate a successful and appropriate twenty-first century American rhetoric is his speech, ‘‘A more Perfect Union’’ delivered on 18th March, 2008 in Philadelphia (Americanrhetoric.com). In this speech, Obama was very conscious and aware of his audience. He primarily targeted the American population, particularly the voters. After addressing the entire population, Obama went further and divided his audience into two groups: - the black Americans and the white Americans. He let the White Americans know of the existence of the racial wounds
Obama carefully addressed the problem of racial discrimination, ensuring that he did not inflict more pain or promote racial division. Nonetheless, he did not shy away from clarifying his point. As an African-American, Obama was aware that people of his racial descent were keen to see how he handles the issue of race. However, he did not favor race in his message. While addressing the black population, he explained that a general feeling existed when African-Americans got better services (Americanrhetoric.com). The feeling was that of paying for the mistakes they never committed. In the speech, Obama demonstrated his wealth of knowledge on the challenges affecting the American people. He chose his words carefully while addressing racism to sooth the audience. By doing so, he made the audience stay calm by ...