An Analysis of President Bush’s Post- 9/11 Speech

Chaos. Grief. Anger. As a nation we all remember a horrific time in our history that occurred over thirteen years ago. Though I was only five years old at the time, I remember the events of September 11, 2001 as if they happened yesterday. I remember my mom picking me up from daycare early because it was right near an international airport. I remember my dad telling me he didn’t know when he was going to be home because his building was put under high security. I remember my grandmother desperately trying to contact my aunt, a flight attendant for US Airways. I remember her crying of relief on the phone when we finally contacted her and found that she was safe. And lastly, I remember the president of the United States, telling me, a terrified five year old, that everything was going to be fine. However, I wasn’t the only scared American to hear this speech. It swept over the nation like a blanket of safety, and provided a sense of security, no matter how brief, to a troubled country. In this post 9/11 speech, which aired only a few hours after the last attack, the president not only gave a short state of the union, he also offered condolence to the country, all while building a subtle feeling of anger brewing beneath the surface. In the midst of a troubled nation, President Bush effectively uses kairos, rhetorical appeals, and awareness of audience to provide a sense of security for those worrying about their country, a feeling of comfort for those grieving their loss, and a promise of revenge for those angered by the events of the day.

After the attacks of September 11, 2001, President Bush took the opportunity to assure his citizens that everything was going to be fine, and their country would march on together. However, just twelve hours before Bush gave this speech, it was just another beautiful September day in the states. Then at around 8:45 AM, the history of America would be forever tarnished as a plane flew into the first of the twin towers. The nation was in a state of chaos with most people believing this to be an innocent plane crash. On the contrary, as the first attack was followed by three more attacks shortly after, the country tried to piece together what was going. By that evening, most Americans were confused, angry, and devastated. At this point, Bush used kairos to his advantage and took the opportunity to comfort his nation. Bush was able to reassure his country when they were most vulnerable by giving a sort of “state of the union” in his speech. Naturally, many citizens had no idea how their country was going to proceed from that point, to which Bush responded, “The functions of our government continue without interruption.” This is a key point to reflect on because it really shows how bush effectively uses the actual time of the speech to tell the country that the government was fine. Had we waited any longer to give this speech, it might not have been as affective, due to the fact that Americans would have remained confused and in the dark about what was happening to their homeland. Therefore, this explanation of the functioning of the government met Bush’s goal of reassuring his citizens that America remained strong, even in the context of the situation.

Furthermore, while the American people were confused, most of the nation was simply weighed down by insurmountable grief, to which Bush responded with a comforting message. Through his use of different rhetorical appeals, the president was able to pull on America’s heartstrings to provide a ray of hope for his citizens. Of course, because Bush was the President- a historically symbolic position in the American government- he already carried a credibility with him, however he takes that a step further in this speech by using specific words and phrases to establish ethos. For instance, Bush repeats words such as our, us, and we to tell the American people that they are one body, and that he stands by them. On the other hand, he also uses phrases such as , “I appreciate so very much the members of Congress who have joined me. . .” This statement also establishes ethos for the president because it exemplifies his position as a high governmental official that his people can trust. Essentially, both of these personas of President Bush provide him with a duel image: in one aspect, he is an American citizen just like us, however by contrast, he is also an authority figure that will protect his citizens. This really establishes his credibility because it makes American citizens trust him and listen to what he has to say. In addition, Bush utilizes logos to provide factual reasons why and how the country would remain strong. He explained what procedures were taken after the attacks, and how those would prevent further attacks. This appeal to America’s logic told his citizens that they were still secure in their homes, and that actions were being taken to assure their safety. Considering the feeling of vulnerability throughout the nation, this was able to provide a factual statement that people could hold onto to reassure themselves that they were sheltered from outside enemies. Despite the fact that ethos and logos are both used effectively in this speech, the most obvious use of rhetorical appeal comes in the form of pathos. Bush uses rhetoric that carries such strong emotion and meaning that one can’t help but be comforted by it. He continually uses words such as “strong,” “justice,” and “peace” to provide comfort for his country. All of these words not only carry a positive connotation, they also exemplify core American ideals. Furthermore, he also uses phrases like, “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America.” This statement uses the pathos driven idea that they- meaning the terrorists- can hurt us physically, but we are still united as a nation and we will continue functioning as the America we were before the attacks. Naturally, this provides comfort for a nation that was feeling particularly insecure at the time. Overall, each of these rhetorical appeals met Bush’s goal of comforting his grieving nation.

Moreover, while America was indeed saddened by the events, their was certainly a quiet anger right beneath that grief. President Bush, being a politician, of course realized the situation that his nation was in, and naturally began to think of the next steps that would be taken in reaction to the events of that day. In other words, the President realized that his next steps would be taking action against those that had harbored these events, and indeed a declaration of war followed just 9 days after this initial speech was given. It follows then, that Bush was able to setup his declaration in this first speech, by subtly playing to American ideologies to unite his people against a common enemy. Consider this statement by Bush, where he explicitly states one of his future goals, “. . . we stand together to win the war against terrorism.” This unites his citizens, regardless of political party or background, under the common American ideology that we will get revenge and we will do what is necessary to make sure our people have the safety and rights that they deserve. Therefore, this statement quietly fuels the fire that was America’s feeling of anger and resentment. Considering this, it is clear that their is a divide in the primary and secondary audiences in this situation. While the primary audience (those that were watching the speech the evening of the attacks) was almost entirely on board with and content with President Bush’s reaction to the situation, when we look back on this speech today, a different approach is often taken. To many in the secondary audience, or those that are reading this today, Bush is criticized for making a rash decision in going to war. For example Bush says that they “will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.” This demonstrates that in the blind anger of the nation, they would take any and all actions necessary to avenge the attacks. All in all, through his awareness of his audience and his future political goals, Bush is able to further the anger felt by Americans at the time.

Though the events of September 11, 2001 plunged America into a state of disbelief, through the extensive use of various rhetorical devices, President Bush was able to temporarily console his nation. Considering the state that the country was in after the attacks, the presentation of this speech may have seemed an almost necessary thing to do for the president. However, the use of rhetoric goes above and beyond the basic presidential speech, it enables a connection with the American people on a personal level. Overall, we will never forget the events of that day, but we will especially remember how we pulled together as a nation, and how President Bush’s speech aided that feeling of unity.