Politician Journal
Politicians
attempt to make the populace support a particular point of view by invoking a
sense of duty and patriotism. The
politicians, to an extent, overuse collective pronouns, such as “we”, “us,
“ours.” These inspired feelings of
collectivism help achieve an atmosphere of pressured support. By appealing to
the persons views of the nation, they are compelled and reminded of the
Revolutionary War days and how the nation strove to become independent.
Furthermore, the concept of peer pressure can also be invoked through the use of
these personal pronouns. It is rare for a person to be completely against an
idea if the entire nation is perceived to be in agreement over the concept.
Another rhetorical device that is a common thread throughout politicians’
speeches is that of repetition.
The constant, never changing views that are emphasized during the
speeches are often introduced through this parallelism. For example, Nixon’s
inaugural address was filled to the brim with parallelism. Between the sentences
of “we will”, and “we are”, there is also a section of the speech dedicated to
what “I know”.
Politicians were incredibly divided over the politics of Vietnam. One of
the main opponents was George McDonnell, however, he was defeated for the role
of President of the United States. Nixon was a supporter of the war that was
seen as Lyndon B. Johnson’s in order to achieve “peace with honor.” However,
this is more a slogan for an appeal to the masses then what was actually being
striven for. In letters to Ho Chi Minh, it is made clear to the President that
they did not wish for that much level of U.S. involvement. Some more interesting
points are also raised. The U.S.’s reason for involving themselves in the war
was awfully ironic given that in the past they were supporting France’s decision
to try and reconquer Vietnam. While Ho Chi Minh critiques Nixon saying that if
the U.S. had let Vietnam be it would have governed itself effectively. This is a
hypothetical situation, as it also could have turned to communism earlier, which
would have brought the U.S. involved even earlier.
Other rhetoric appeals that were used to convince the populace to support
a specific view was the use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Martin Luther King
Jr.’s speech on Vietnam had significant usage of ethos. He refers to the
Declaration of Independence, saying Vietnam had been trying to achieve that
government, but that the United States still interfered and disregarded it. This
argument would help convince the American public that he was addressing to
become infuriated by the nation’s repression. He also put a heavy emphasis on
pathos. He spoke of the Vietnamese peasants who were striving for an
American-like government, in order to have their ideals crushed by a corrupt
leader that America was supporting. He talks of U.S. soldiers brutally
destroying their families and their villages. However, the most important part
of those arguments is the impact that bringing families into it has. It is one
thing to think of the Vietnamese as nameless foreigners, it is another when they
prospect of families and young children are brought into the equation. Then they
are no longer nameless specters, but confused human beings being taken advantage
of. It adds a sense of feeling and guilt in the audience to make them realize
the moral wrongness of the war.
Martin Luther King Jr. and others were also heavy users of logos. One of
the most damning pieces of logos was in Martin Luther King Jr’s speech where he
contradicted the very reason the nation went to war. Publicly, it was proclaimed
that the U.S. went to war to support South Vietnam from turning to communism.
However, according to the doctor, fewer than 25 percent were actually
communists. This use of statistics
and evidence from the war were used by opponents to the war in order to persuade
the general public or as Nixon called them, the “silent majority”, to support
their claims instead.
Supporters of the Vietnam War attempted to draw people to share their
views through a sort of fear mixed with patriotism. The fear of the Soviet Union
during the Cold War struck ice into the hearts of the American people. It is one
of the reasons men like Joseph McCarthy were able to get away with horrific
actions. People were frightened and many politicians would capitalize on this to
ensure that their goals were supported. Politicians also drew on patriotism,
evoking images of the founding fathers and democracy and stressing the ideal for
all nations to attain this level of democracy. When America is at war, politicians are
able to point the finger at an enemy, and attempt to unify the American public
in a fight against them. While they were unsuccessful during this war, countless
other times this strategy has worked.
As John F. Kennedy promoted in his inaugural address, unity was an
important aspect of the American society, and that that was what needed to be
achieved in America. This idea would pass over into the Vietnam War as it was
exploited to provide needed support for the
war.