Informative Essay On 9/11

Estela Davis Ortiz
ENG-105-TR500A
September 16, 2015
Nicholas White
September 11, 2001; a national catastrophe
On that tragic day of September 11, 2001 many Americans lost their lives, and our country was changed forever. Everyone in this room was affected by the attack of 9/11. If you have gone through airport security, or listened to Blake’s speech on the phone tapping, these are things that have resulted from this one event, in hopes of keeping America safe. George W. Bush was president of the United States at the time and had to deliver an Address to the Congress the evening of 9/20 that was watched by not only Americans, but also the world. President Bush addressed the American people and both houses of Congress to declare a “global war

on terrorism.” (Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2014) Our nation was in a fragile state and everyone was looking to President Bush to explain the terrorist attacks and what actions would be taken against them. As president, George W. Bush needs some skills to persuade the nation, and the congress; therefore his ethos, logos, and pathos will be critiqued.

The speech occurred on the evening of September 20, 2001 in a joint session of congress.

It was broadcast on all news channels to the public. (Bush, 2001).When a country is in crisis, which is better to raise the spirits of the nation than the president. After the 9/11 attack the country, and perhaps the world looked to George W. Bush to help them overcome the challenge of a terrorist attack. The president is also given the title as the Commander-in-chief, which means that no one else would have been able to decide to go to war. George W. Bush had a lot on his shoulders that day, and an entire country to

defend.

First, as president of the United States, George W. Bush already has some credibility from the fact that he has secured the title of President, and this is his first crisis as President in which has to address the congress. Within the speech he gives many connections to the audience. At the beginning of his speech, Bush state "gratefulness and acknowledgment to the congressmen to leave behind their differences and work together to defeat this terrifying act of war, and to support the nation deliberating 40 billion dollars for the restoration of the country” (Bush, 2001). In whole speech, Bush draws attention through his references to United States using the words “citizens,” “nation,” and “country” as well as a vision of unity, emphasized by the repeated use of the pronoun “our”. In the whole address Bush uses the first-person plural personal pronouns “we” and “us” and the first-person plural possessive pronoun “our” altogether one-hundred times, among which “our” is the most frequent with fifty-two times. In using the word “our” many times he is letting us see that we have all been affected by this tragedy.

Secondly, George W.

Bush devotes a section to explain what has been done so far on Washington DC’s part to help the rescue effort and to ensure that no other acts will happen. He tells the audience that they are already searching to find the terrorists that have committed this act and that justice will be brought down on them. "The United States would take preemptive military action against any government that harbored, sponsored, or supported Afghanistan’s terrorists" (Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. 2014). President declared. He does not use any logical fallacies. He is very direct and is working to subtly persuade us to go to war, and to want to fight back. He is stating what efforts have already taken towards justice and a restoration of peace, but also alluding to taking a firmer/harder action. "His arguments gave him a high approval of ninety percent" (Schneider, 2001). However, in his speech, Bush has serious promises that once were encouraging for the nation, but today, many were not met. For example, George Bush mentions "We will direct every resource at our command to the disruption and to the defeat of the global terror network" (Bush, 2001). This promise has not been completed because terrorist network is gigantic and

powerful.

Finally, the entire topic of 9/11 is still a very emotional event that haunts us to the day. Therefore, President Bush giving an address the day of the attack was bound to be very strong with emotional appeals. The entire speech focuses on the resolve of America and that we still strong after these “evil acts of terror”. Bush thanked all forms of assistance and supports to various countries of the world have created for the nation. "And on behalf of the American people, I thank the world for its outpouring of support" (Bush, 2001) he exclaimed. "I will not yield. I will not rest. I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security of the American people" (Schneider, 2001), president said to keep and strengthen the American union, and overcome this assault. He created an emotional environment with his speech.

His attempts to build credibility within the speech are not quite successful, but it is only because the speech is over such a sensitive new event that pathos takes over much of the speech. He, as I said uses “our” as a way to connect with America on a level of unity as a country and to take away the class difference between us all because at this time we need to be one and look to each other for support. The logical structures were very successful. In letting America know that he is doing everything in his power as president to bring justice to those that have committed the act of terror is very reassuring. The audience is able to follow his logic and back him up with support. Americans are in a fragile state and Bush’s subtle persuasions also work in his favor because we do not want to see these acts go unpunished.

George W. Bush had to deliver an Address to the congress the evening of September 20, 2001. He did his best to reassure Americans that we could and would overcome this tragedy, as a unified nation. 9/11 is an event America will carry with us throughout the rest of our history. “Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11” (Lukinson,2014).