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    Rhetorical Analysis From Present Tense

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    Rhetorical Analysis From Present Tense

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    rhetorical analysis from present tense

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    Rhetorical Analysis From Present Tense

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    WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? USE RHETORIC WISELY * With the war in Iraq well into its fifth year, with the U.S, death toll moving past 4,000, and with no end to the conflict in sight, many Americans seem co have stopped paying attention to the fighting, ‘While those with family and friends in the military no doubt are fully aware that the war is scill raging, many others are con- sumed by more immediate concerns like rising gas prices and a falling economy. But the war drags on, and many Americans and even more Iragis—will continue to die because of it. For this reason, accord: ing to an opinion piece by Oliver “Buzz” ‘Thomas, Americans need to keep the war in their minds. And, Thomas argues, ifthey idencify themselves as Christians, they also should change the way they think about tthe war so that they can figure out how to bring it to an end. Writing in USA Today, the nation’s largest circulation newspaper, “Thomas speaks directly to Christians in the ccolumn, titled "A Christian View of War.” He uses his position as a minister and his knowledge of the Bible to press all of the right emotional and intellectual buttons to get his audience to listen to his message: that Christians need to rethink their posi- tion on the war by trying to think and act ina more Christ-like manner, 2 In chetorical terms, Thomas’ strongest and ‘most consistent appeal is his ethos. Writ- ing to a large and broad audience—USA Today claimed 2,259,329 daily readers in 2006, the year “A Christian View of War” was published (“Timeline”)—he specifically reaches out to the “[t}hree-quarters of the US. population [who] consider themselves Christian” (Thomas). The face that he is a minister i explained in a biographical note, and Thomas shows his expertise on the sub- ject of Christianity with specific examples from the Bible and an authoritative tone In the third paragraph, for example, he brings up Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount; in the seventh, he discusses a relevant quote from James, the brother of Jesus; and in the ninth, he explains why Americas don’, in fact, have a special claim on God. Thomas stems to know that, because he is tying to connect with Christian readers, he needs to establish his credentials if he wants them to listen. What makes his argument espe- cially effective, however, is that Thomas doesn't stake his ethical appeal entirely on his credentials as a minister. Early in his column, he uses humor and self-awareness of the cask before him to help readers see iim as more than a know-it-all who is ery- ing to tell them what to do. In the second paragraph, he establishes a friendly and slightly humorous tone when he talks about thekind ofcarjesus might drive, and he stares the third paragraph with, “Before you write me offasalef-wing erackpot...” (Thomas) By doing these things, Thomas lets readers kenow that he i a reasonable person worth hearing out, even though he might say some things they don’ agree with 2 As strong and consistent as his ethos is, ‘Thomas doesn't rely on that appeal alone. He also weaves in effective pathetic and logical appeals to reach out to his readers and persuadethem toliscen to his argument. Because the implications of a drawn-out war are grave, Thomas’ appeals to his audi- ‘ence’s emotions are especially evocative. He calls our attention to the plight of the Iraqi people in paragraph seven when he makes an analogy between them and the “hun- gry man” of James! parable, By bringing the Iraqi civilians into the position of the hungry man for whom Christians should feel compassion, Thomas vividly illustrates the necessity of caring for our enemies His decision to appeal to his audience's emotions at this particular moment in the column is especially shrewd because just following his analogy of the Iraqi civilians to the sympathetic hungry man, Thomas Puts forth what might be a divisive claim. that “we must work diligently to respond {0 the Iraqis’ desire that our troops leave as quickly as possible” (Thomas). By evok ing sympathy from his readers for the Iraqi People, Thomas makes it more likely that his readers (perhaps even those who dis- agree with his position) will soften towards the idea that the U.S, troops should with draw from rag. Thus, his no-nonsense policy claim is cushioned by his attempts to soften the audience's emotions “While Thomas appeals to his audience’s sense of compassion and concern for hue ‘manity, he also, on occasion, makes rhe torical moves to stoke its sense of guilt. In paragraph ight, in which Thomas suggests that Christians should "r}ecommit [them- selves] to the fundamental principles of justice and human rights,” he implies chat they are not committed to them at pres ent. This lack of commitment amounts to the abandonment of a central tenet ofthe Christan faith, an abandonmene that no serious Christan should abide. in ad. tion to subtly pointing out what qualities his Christian audience is lacking, Thomas intensities hif appeal to his audience's sense of guile by appealing to some com mon fears. He writes that "America cannot resort to the worst practices of the Gulag (where citizens were declared ‘enemies of the state’ and whisked away to Siberian work camps without the benefit ofa fair tal or the assistance of counsel) [...]” (Thomas). The phrase “whisked away to Siberian work camp i fill of vivid image ery that conjures up mental pictures of cold, barren, and unforgiving landscapes where innocents are pushed well beyond their physical and mental limits in the ser vice of a state that is not their own. This violent and cruel picture works in two ways, Firs, ic encourages readers to imag. ine themselves in this situation-to imagine themselves as cold, frightened, stripped of free will, and forced into painful and burdensome manual Inbor. ‘Second, it encourages readers to transfer this emo- tional terror from themselves to the pris- coners and the vievims of our current War in iraq, After all, ics our country that has been exposed for torturing prisoners oF war at Abu Ghraib, Ie is our country that has been widely ertcized for holding large umbers of individuals at Guantanamo Bay without lodging any official charges against them. Though Thomas does not lise these incidents by aame, hei no doube playing on this knowledge of his audi- ence in order to help them fel empathy for the enemy. This single passage causes the audience to feel the victims pain, and then ie forces them to imagine chemselves as complicie with the ones causing it Sin dhe hands of another, less sensitive write, these appeals mighe seem like ham-fisted, emotional manipulation. Indeed, if they were not handled with just the right bal ance, they would undoubtedly curn readers off instead of predisposing them to listen to the author's claims, Thomas, however, is. able to make successful use ofthis kind of thetorical force because he positions him- self as a knowledgeable, lighthearted, and reasonable person throughout the column, Even when he hits on the most emotionally incendiary issues, his humor and compas- sion come through. When he concludes his column, for example, Thomas makes the dlaim that “God is not the mascot of the Republicans, the Democrats or, for that rmacter, Americans" (Thomas). Though this is an imporcant element of Thomas's claim that America is a secular nation that does not possess God's will to impose itself on another country, it still has a sense of humor. The very notion of God as a mascot—as if he were rallying a college football team-lightens the mood even as it conveys this serious point. Ic is this light touch thac allows Thomas's gravity to work 0 effectively on the audience. © What makes Thomas truly successful is not the effectiveness of any single rhetori-

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