Lost In America Rhetorical Analysis

Author Douglas McGray, in his article “Lost in America,” fights for the expansion of foreign language education in schools by focusing on the present and potential future effects the issue will have on the state of America’s world relations and world business market. To efficiently communicate his message for expansion, McGray publishes his article in Foreign Policy Magazine—a publication known for its political demographic. He publishes his article there with the intent to persuade his intended audience, lawmakers, to pass additional policies and laws expanding foreign language in schools. McGray compiles evidence from history, research, and some of his own thoughts on global education in America. He includes several rhetorical choices such

as historical references, statistics, an urgency in tone, and analogies which he utilizes to highlight his point to lawmakers that foreign language is fundamentally important in America’s school system.
Throughout the article, McGray references historical evidence to substantiate and support his claims. These references he accompanies with persuasive word choices to veer his audience’s opinion. An instance where he applies this method is in his statement: “America was suddenly a republic, but a republic of foreigners—disparate, multi-lingual, barely connected… Public education was designed to manufacture citizens” (McGray 353). This reference to history is used to target his primary audience, lawmakers, as he relates the issue to the government. In this, McGray wants his audience to understand that the public education system was designed to address past issues. Usage of words such as ‘disparate’ and ‘barely connected’ when describing the history of America prompts lawmakers to recognize the dissimilarity between the past with the present state of America. When McGray states that ‘America was suddenly…a republic of foreigners’, he emphasizes the contrast of past problems and inferences the change from America’s needing for national unity to its need to improve its world relations. This provides evidence of how America’s education system needs to evolve and grow. The previous model of the education system was created to address problems which are currently no longer an issue concerned by government, such as national unity. This method of referencing history is powerful in conjecturing thoughts while creating a strong basis for support. With word choices and a tone that appeal to reason, McGray can effectively change audience’s thoughts in favor of his argument. Logical appeal with reference to history makes it difficult for lawmakers to disagree with his points when it provides credible background and strong reasoning for the issue’s presence and cause.
He also uses a similar type of logical appeal when he uses statistics to illustrate and legitimize his claims. An example of this can be seen when he states: “Two Thirds of American students never studied a second language at all in the year 2000” (McGray 352). McGray in this example is using statistics to shock lawmakers about the state of the issue. He uses it to show his audience that the issue is a true threat. The fact that more than half of American students never studied a second language is serious in terms of general education and not just global education. This rhetorical choice is a method for the author to legitimize the issue in the mind of his audience. Additionally, a better example of this method in use can be seen when he says: “92 percent of American undergraduates never take a foreign language class” (McGray 354). The better aspect of this example is that the percentage is higher. This allows it to have more shock value. Furthermore, this statistic is more specific and relevant to the issue. In this example, it references the population of American undergraduates. American undergraduates represent America’s future workforce and generation. For this reason, this example better illustrates how the lack of foreign language education in America’s school systems will lead to worse world relations. Statistical data’s persuasiveness increases the stronger the relation it has to the argument. For these reasons, this shows how the use of statistical data can be used for the benefit of the author’s claims. McGray’s rationalizing of his point of view towards his audience with numbers and data is significant as its logical appeal gives a strong basis for his audience to support his premise. If McGray wants to set an appropriate argument, it is crucial that he appeal to the audience’s logic with relevant research and evidence which he does throughout his article.
McGray also uses a sense of urgency in the tone of his writing to provoke feelings from lawmakers in favor of expansion.

He applies this method to influence his audience’s emotions by provoking fear and a sense of responsibility to the issue. For instance, this can be seen when he states: “Whether it is translating and analyzing intelligence intercepts in Arabic and Farsi… young Americans will struggle to bear their responsibilities” (McGray 353). In this, McGray creates a sense of urgency on the issue by using lawmakers’ fear of America having poor foreign relations. McGray uses fear, such as this, to elevate his argument’s significance. By relating the issue to foreign policy, McGray is able to advance his cause and its importance in the mind of his audience. Causing fear in one’s audience is a strong device for support as it promotes the issue as a high-priority. In addition, besides the use of fear, McGray also uses an urgent tone in his attempts to provoke a sense of moral responsibility from the audience towards the issue. An instance where he uses this can be seen when he states: “We may live in a democratic age, but the international system is no democracy. The United States can solve crises that entire continents, working together, cannot. It can also sink most treaties, veto any global consensus, undermine the United Nations…” (McGray 359). This quote is important because McGray utilizes it to reason with his audience that the U.S. has a responsibility to expand

foreign language education since the U.S. is in such high power. It focuses on lawmakers, McGray’s intended audience, and uses their emotion of their sense of responsibility to make them feel they have an obligation to this cause. It makes the issue more personal to his audience which is powerful in the sense that it prioritizes the issue to the reader. He uses this and many other emotional reasoning to influence lawmakers’ feelings on the issue, so that more policies and laws in support may be passed.
McGray in the article also incorporates analogies in his argument to help illustrate the detrimental situation of the lack of foreign language education in school systems.

An example can be seen when he says “The same holds true in global economics, politics, and society, which can shift—and shift the world’s competitive landscape—as fast as a new operating system can turn a two-year-old laptop into an expensive typewriter” (McGray 359). Similar to old computer programs not being able to work or communicate with newer computer systems, McGray argues with this analogy that the nation’s future generations will not be able to communicate and participate in the world economy if they do not expand their knowledge of foreign language. Analogies such as this are a powerful device for reasoning of support as it makes this unfamiliar issue more familiar by relating it to something more easily understandable. It helps illustrate the picture of the problem that McGray wants lawmakers to see. McGray creates this picture of a possible detrimental state that adds to the reasons why addressing this issue is vital to the nation. Creating the perspective of the issue is important if McGray wants to be successful in convincing Congress that the issue needs to

addressed.
With his use of rhetorical choices, McGray targets lawmakers with strategies and methods meant to persuade them in favor of expansion of foreign language in America’s school system. His justification of claims had a strong premise for support as a result of the effectiveness of his use of tone, word choice, and persuasive reasoning. For these reasons, McGray was able to successfully communicate his message to his intended audience. It used his intended audience’s emotions and thoughts and effectively veered them to his issue. His chosen rhetorical choices, such as historical references, statistics, an urgent tone, and analogies are the elements which make this article so leading in convincing lawmakers that foreign language education should be regarded as vital for the nation.