No one likes to be berated and lectured, or to be wrong or disrespected. When Bernie Sanders was preparing the speech he would eventually be giving to Liberty University, he had to have a clear understanding of the opinions and attitudes of his immediate audience, and knew that if he came across as doing any of these things, he would lose what small chance he had at gaining any support from them. It was because of this knowledge that Bernie Sanders decided that the best way to approach giving this speech would not be with a harsh argument intended to persuade his audience into seeing big social issues his way, he knew that they were beyond that in their Christian beliefs and their understanding of morals, and so he went with a different approach.
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Bernie Sanders knew that Liberty University was the biggest conservative Christian University in the world, which for him meant that Liberty University would be made up of a large number of citizens who were not in support of him or of many of his liberal beliefs. Due to the this fact, he knew that the focus of this particular speech couldn’t be just a setup of his platform and an attempt to make them change their moral views on issues like abortion and gay rights. For this audience, the more effective place to put his energy was in trying to appeal with the common ground he shared with them in order to explain what needs to be done in order to improve and fix the issues happening in …show more content…
He reassures the audience that persuading them to agree with his opinions of these specific matters is not going to be the point of this speech, by saying “We [politicians] go out and we talk to people who agree with us. But it is harder but not less important to communicate with those who do not agree with us on every issue. And it is important to see where if possible, and I do believe it is possible, to find common ground.” He then goes on to compliment them, saying “You are a school which as all of us in our own way tries to understand the meaning of morality. What does it mean to live a moral life. And you try to understand in this very complicated modern world that we live in what the words of the bible mean in today's society. You are a school which tries to teach its students how to behave with decency and with honesty and how you can best relate to your fellow human beings and I applaud you for trying to achieve those goals.” Multiple times throughout the speech he uses disarming techniques to get the audience further and further into his corner. He quotes the Bible and the Pope as transfer techniques in order to get the audience to connect him with Christianity more and in turn to connect more with them, since he knew that religion would be an area that would be easy to appeal to them
Bernie Sanders knew that Liberty University was the biggest conservative Christian University in the world, which for him meant that Liberty University would be made up of a large number of citizens who were not in support of him or of many of his liberal beliefs. Due to the this fact, he knew that the focus of this particular speech couldn’t be just a setup of his platform and an attempt to make them change their moral views on issues like abortion and gay rights. For this audience, the more effective place to put his energy was in trying to appeal with the common ground he shared with them in order to explain what needs to be done in order to improve and fix the issues happening in …show more content…
He reassures the audience that persuading them to agree with his opinions of these specific matters is not going to be the point of this speech, by saying “We [politicians] go out and we talk to people who agree with us. But it is harder but not less important to communicate with those who do not agree with us on every issue. And it is important to see where if possible, and I do believe it is possible, to find common ground.” He then goes on to compliment them, saying “You are a school which as all of us in our own way tries to understand the meaning of morality. What does it mean to live a moral life. And you try to understand in this very complicated modern world that we live in what the words of the bible mean in today's society. You are a school which tries to teach its students how to behave with decency and with honesty and how you can best relate to your fellow human beings and I applaud you for trying to achieve those goals.” Multiple times throughout the speech he uses disarming techniques to get the audience further and further into his corner. He quotes the Bible and the Pope as transfer techniques in order to get the audience to connect him with Christianity more and in turn to connect more with them, since he knew that religion would be an area that would be easy to appeal to them