There is no debating that President Biden’s inauguration came at one of, if not the United States most trying and difficult times.  Racial injustice, full scale insurrections, along with the COVID-19 pandemic has put the country and its citizens through extremely trying times.  The economy has slumped and public trust and confidence and trust in the government is at an all time low.  In addition to all of this, the Presidential Election along with the controversies over the election results has and continues to cause citizens to question the true validity of the election itself.  Therefore, as Joe Biden comes into the presidency at such a pivotal time in American history, it is important that he attempts to sew the country back together.  This is what makes Joe Biden’s presidential speech so valuable and important.

Joe Biden’s first order of business when creating and writing the inaugural address is to perform the ceremonial function.  From the get-go, Biden’s speech works to convey that he will attempt and work to unify the country.  He addresses that his role and movement to becoming president should not be looked at as if they voted in one person but rather voted in democracy.  He tries to instill in the people, the ideas that he will bring the country back together.  He states, “…we come together as one nation…”.  Such assertion are essential to address the nation so that he can get the entire country, not just one political party or small group behind him.  In addition, Biden discusses pivotal figures in American history such as Abraham Lincoln in order to add an element of the discussion about the great things this country has achieved, yet how much it still has to achieve.  These types of discussions lead to another discussion about how rhetorically effective the speech is.

President Biden attempts to answer and at a minimum discuss the many issues that are currently plaguing the country.  Biden addresses from the start the issues that the pandemic has created.  He addresses how widespread the implications of the pandemic are, asserting that the pandemic has caused jobs to be lost and forced business to close. In addition, to addressing the pandemic he also addresses racial divides and issues in this country.  Specifically, Biden asserts that now is the time to address white supremacy and domestic terrorism.  He also discusses making schools safer for children which is a reference to recent gun violence in school.  While Biden obviously cannot and does not have the time to address every issue the country is facing, he does effectively lay out all the issues the country is currently facing and how he will work hard to bring the country back together to address these issues.

Overall, Biden’s speech rhetorically and from a ceremonial aspect is effective at addressing the current issues that face the country.  Yet, his speech is ineffective in that he paints an overexaggerated bleak picture of the country.  His focus on so many of the issues and not on the positives demonstrate a seemingly negative take on the country, not a positive one.  This is one of the few elements that detract from his overall speech which all-in-all is rhetorically effective.