The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina is a recap of one of the most vulnerable times in U.S. history; in how patriotism and Bush’s leadership lead the American people into a “fictional reality”. The main argument throughout the book focuses on how pop culture and media create the reality, in a way that is scripted by those with the power to manipulate it. In this book, the case happens to be George W. Bush creating the reality of patriotism and unity, in a time U.S. society felt destroyed and distrustful. He created a narrative of a fictional reality to the American people of what was going on in Iraq. This was the time when fake news began. The book while it covered a lot of political history …show more content…
After 9/11, all news coverage was on the twin towers, the people who had died, and the tragic event that was occurring in our America. Rich focuses on the fact that in the immediate time after the crash into the twin towers, Bush decided to disappear. This is essentially where the “story”, the narrative, being sold to the America people begins the era of a false reality. The American people were told that the White House was the next target, and that’s why we couldn’t know where our President was; because if we knew, then the enemy knew. It was three days after 9/11 when America finally heard that this was an act of terror, and Bush began using the word Islamic extremism. Using words like that, got America scared and in response war felt like the only option to get justice. From the first time, he spoke after 9/11, he demanded the attention and obedience from the media, to shape the story. Any and all information about war, and intelligence was not being investigated but instead given to the media from the Bush Administration. This ensured that the story they wanted the American people to know was coming directly from them. Bush also restricted the media from U.S. troops. The media listened to the Bush administration and got behind Iraq, just like they got behind Afghanistan. The months, and even years after 9/11 were spent in congressional hearings and investigations to try and figure out the
9/11 was a great upset for the American nation this prompting President Bush to give a speech. George W. Bush was the 43rd president of the United States of America, this makes him a credible and trustworthy speaker of the topic. His speech
The speech took place on September 20th which is nine days after the attack occurred. There are several reasons that Bush waited nine days before presenting the speech, but having nine days to prepare for a speech of this magnitude is hardly any time at all. When he addressed the nation the night of the attack the speech must have been much easier to prepare for due to the fact that there is not yet a plan in place. When addressing congress a plan needs to be in place and it needs to be said efficiently. There was a clear objective in the message Bush was trying to convey to congress,
The purpose of this speech was, overall, to address the tragic acts of terrorism. President Bush accomplishes this in an informative and effective manner through his elegiac tone throughout the speech. This mournful way of writing gives a respectful and empathetic feeling to the address. This is incredibly important, as many people were feeling grief, loss, fear, and heartache at the time. Another purpose for the speech is to call the American people to action. President Bush, through his use of imperative statements, successfully rallies his audience to action. After describing some upcoming changes to the government, he said “These measures are essential. But the only way to defeat terrorism as a threat to our way of life is to stop it, eliminate it, and destroy it where it grows” (“George Bush Speech”). This imperative statement gets the audience feeling determined to do their part to destroy terrorism. Soon after, he said, “I have a message for our military: Be ready. I’ve called the Armed Forces to alert, and there is a reason. The hour is coming when America will act, and you will make us proud” (“George Bush Speech”). This specifically calls the military to action, which is a critical aspect of the speech. President Bush also uses this speech as an opportunity to thank people who made a difference in the tragic event, saying “I thank the Congress for its leadership at such an important time”, “I thank the world for its outpouring of support”, and, “…I thank you for your
Bush uses his presidential platform to help alleviate the fear of the American people. In doing this he had to act poised, calm, and professional as his predecessors had to in times of catastrophe and tragedy. Bush had been in the middle of a book reading at an elementary school in Florida at the time of the attack. As soon as the attack happened Bush was contacted and immediately boarded Air Force One, flew from Florida to Washington D.C., made this address to the nation, and finally he flew to New York to aid the first responders in the cleanup of the wreckage. This showed professionalism on Bush’s part because he had dropped everything to help his country. This made the people want
Former President George W. Bush’s speech, “Bullhorn”, was given through a megaphone on top the rumble of 220 floors of a horrific event. On the day of September 11, 2001, an Islamic group, called Al-Qaeda, hijacked four American passenger airliners to carry out suicide attacks against targets across the United States. The potential targets included: the twin towers, the Pentagon and the White House. Three of the four hijacked airliners accomplished their goal as the lives of 3,000 innocent civilians were taken. A cloud of grief and mourn covered the country as they experience the worst tragedy since 1941, the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Soon after the attack on September 14th, a ray of hope appeared as President Bush took the stage. Throughout his speech, three rhetorical devices were shown are: ethos, logos, and pathos. Bush used these three devices to connect with the audiences’ emotions, appeal to the audiences’ ethics, and appeal to the logical side of the audience additionally, all while creating a sufficient speech to the comfort the country.
President Bush, shares his view on the matter throughout this speech. Bush’s purpose is to try and help Americans not panic during such a terrifying situation that has changed American history. Since Bush understands what Americans or people in general the world must be feeling, he is able to address the matter in a calm and collected way. In “Bush’s 9/11 speech,” the author, President George Bush, uses various rhetorical devices to reinforce his position on the 9/11 attack.
September 11, 2001 was a tragic part of history for the United States of America. On September 11, four planes crashed down by hijackers at the Pentagon, the Twin Towers, and a Pennsylvania field. The Pentagon and World Trade Center were the primary buildings where the Al Qaeda wanted to attack. The White House was another target, however they never made it. Later that night, President George W. Bush gave a speech about 9/11 in the Oval Office. George W. Bush inspired America of their safety and security of his confident tone, religious beliefs,word choice.
On September 11, 2001, George W. Bush delivered his 9/11 Address to the Nation at 8:30 PM to all Americans. This speech, broadcasted throughout the nation from within the Oval Office just hours after the terrorist hijacking and the crash on the Twin Towers, reassured American citizens during a time of devastation and need of proper leadership. (Eidenmuller). Through rhetoric intended to convey strength and the actions America had already taken to combat this tragedy, Bush instilled hope in the American people and provided them with a sense of unification.
Throughout the speech, Bush uses his credibility and ethos to build up his purpose. He has automatic credibility because he is the one giving the speech, creates trust with his beliefs, and was the president at the time that the attack occurred. Bush created ethos by saying, “tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those
One of the most detrimental and traumatic events of United States history involves the terrorist attacks on the day of September 11th, in 2001. September 11th is a day countless Americans will never forget. Because our nation encountered such a horrific attack, it was up to our president during the time, President George W. Bush, to address the country. Many Americans suffered loss and fear; therefore, former President George Bush’s goal was to heal and comfort the nation by persuading them to see the light within the darkness. Bush’s speech was a success because he showed America’s togetherness and solidarity by creating an emotional connection to the audience; moreover, by responding appropriately to the attacks, he presented himself with a leadership and role no one else could take.
On September 11, 2001, George W. Bush gave a speech to the American citizens following the horrible and tragic terrorist attacks that had taken place. Bush’s purpose is to create unity among the nation and to build his presidential credibility. United States President, George W. Bush, in his speech, 9/11 Address to the Nation, emphasizes how everyone should move forward and remain strong after the tragic events. Bush appeals to the audience using pathos, logos, and ethos while adopting a grieving, yet hopeful tone in order to tranquilize the people of America.
For Mike Cross, September 11 was a different story. He started out his day by going to work for Planning Systems Incorporated in Stephenville until he heard about “a plane that crashed into a tower, you didn’t know it was a terrorist attack.” Mike’s office had an irregular approach to the situation, nobody made a big deal about it. Nobody went home. “It seemed like a far off distant place of New York.” Before 9/11, “Terrorism wasn’t in the vocabulary.” After the attack, nothing went back to the way it was before. “Everything was looked through the lens of terrorism.” The trust between fellow men and coworkers was gone, lost in the past. “Everyone was viewed as suspicious… and
Bush uses the appeal of ethos in an effective manner. Bush had prior experience being a governor in Texas before his presidential experience. He is very clear and confident throughout this entire speech that the American people will recover from this event. Bush knows how the American military functions more than any other person out there, and he states, “our military is powerful, and its prepared” (Bush, 2001, para. 3). That statement is very bold and it would give any American the sense of protection they needed to feel during this time. Bush had the experience to lead this country in a time like 9/11 and he and congress worked together hand in hand to work powerfully on these attacks (Bush, 2001). Although most of the American people did not know Bush on a personal level, when he delivered this speech, he made it his top priority to feel a personal connection with the entire country. Having the title of the President of the United States gives Bush the credibility he needed to use ethos effectively in the 9/11 speech.
Tuesday morning, September 11 of 2001, referred to as a day to remember, the twin towers were attacked by terrorists in a hijacked plane. Thousands of lives were lost and it was a day that brought great sorrow to America. George W. Bush, the president at that time, addressed his speech to America as a nation, giving them hope that the events that took place earlier that day would not shake them but that they would come back stronger. In this essay I will evaluate Bush’s formal 9/11 Address to the Nation and discuss the speaker’s appeals to pathos, logos and ethos to convey his message that America can stand tall as one.
The first thing Obama does in his speech is mention the events of 9/11. He recalls it as a “the worst attack on the American people in our history.” He continues giving his audience a idea of a horrible event full of death. He is using a form of rhetoric known as pathos. He does this to pull on people’s emotions getting their attention and reminding them of the past. By doing this Obama unites peoples thoughts making them think the same thing and re-ignite the American people’s urge for revenge on Al Qaeda.