The Values Americans Live by L. Robert Kohls

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Often people tend to think that if bad events happen upon someone, they deserve it. Now we have adapted to the evil is in the world. A Presidential candidate for 2008 campaign, Barack Obama’s “Address to the People of Berlin,” urges the world to support each other, and fight the dangers that threatens liberty. Obama speaks in Berlin to represent hope for the future, so that one day the world will take down its wall just like Berlin did 19 years ago. The former senator persuades his audience with the emotional appeal of pathos and credible appeal of ethos. Also, “The Values Americans Live” by L. Robert Kohls, explains the thirteen values Americans live by through the eyes of non citizens. These values are to inform Americans and visitors of why and how Americans act (Kohls). These American values help and extract Obama’s ethos. In Barack Obama’s “Address to the People of Berlin,” the former senator calls to action for countries to unite, by using the rhetorical methods of pathos and ethos. Obama’s establishes his ethos through American values, and foreign traditions; along side Obama’s pathos gives an essence of humor, building bridges, and sustaining his descriptive information, while these rhetorical devises work pieces of them hinder his argument. To begin with, Obama establishes his various types of ethos throughout his entire speech. Looking at Obama’s credibility from the United States perspective he is a senator and a candidate for Presidency. People who are elected as senators and possibly President, exhibit themselves as intelligent and authoritative. In the same way, Obama spirits the American values like change, future orientation, action/work orientation, and personal control over the environment (Kohls). For instanc... ... middle of paper ... ...ndividualism. Likewise, non American citizens might find it rude for him to break tradition by allowing a senator speak to the people of Berlin to gain political views. The discussion of Obama’s ethos and pathos addresses the larger matter of countries coming together, and combining our vigor and deficiency, to remake the world. He is not only asking the Berlin people to create a movement, but everyone else to take action in their everyday lives. Ultimately, Obama wants us to ask the question, “What have I done today, that betters my country towards peace and freedom?” Works Cited Kohls, L. Robert. The values Americans live by. Meridian House International, 1984. Web. Obama, Barack. “Address to the People of Berlin.” Language Matters: A Writing-About Writing (WAW) Curriculum. 3rd ed. Ed. Debra Frank Dew. Southlake: Fountainhead Press, 2010. 368-374. Print.

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