A Rhetorical Analysis Of Mary Fisher's Speech

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The Life of AIDS Imagine living with an incurable, harmful disease for the rest of your life, feeling scared and embarrassed to even talk about your situation or getting to know new people. One who will never get to experience certain things again or at all for the rest of their life. Well, Mary Fisher a mother of two young children who had worked in Gerald Ford’s White House, addressed the delegates as someone who was H.I.V. positive herself. On August 19, 1992 Fisher spoke out to an enthusiastic crowd at the Republican National Convention in Houston, Texas to inform people about AIDS and her beliefs. In her speech she talked about three major topics. One of the topics she expressed was the way people felt about being infected with AIDS. …show more content…

As she talks to the audience, Fisher explains that the “ AIDS virus is not a political creature” (American Rhetoric: Mary Fisher). Her point that she is trying to get across is that it doesn’t matter if you’re a democrat or republican, black or white, gay or straight, male or female, young or old, anyone can come in contact with this disease. It is becoming more and more common, and it is not a distant threat. Fisher expresses that AIDS is a “present danger” (American Rhetoric: Mary Fisher). She also stresses that the rate of infection is increasing rapidly among women and children. Most human beings don’t think they will get HIV or AIDS. Some high status people feel that they are untouchable by this incurable disease just because they feel that they are better than others when that is not the case. We have killed each other with our careless and ignorant actions, as well as our prejudice and our silence against this serious matter. Our society now takes refuge in our stereotypes and we can not hide any longer. HIV only asks one thing from whom it attacks, and that is if they’re human. Fisher explains that it goes after any human being to express that those who may think they’re too good to contract the disease are delusional. Lastly, she uses logos by giving factual information about the disease and persuading people to be more careful, as well as helping her to stop the “shroud of silence” (American Rhetoric: Mary

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