Example Of Mitt Romney's Rhetorical Strategies In Faith In America

Superior Essays
Mitt Romney’s Rhetorical Strategies in “Faith in America” This nation was founded on religion, and eventually, the slogan evolved into “In God we trust.” The great American leaders of the past never dared forget the God in Heaven who watches over the land and the people. In America, religion seems to be the heart and soul of the country. It seems to be the gears turning and allowing the country to continue moving forward and progressing at such incredible speeds. But with religion, there is a fine line that cannot be crossed. In the beginning, it had to be made clear that the separation of church and state was a necessity. Presidents of America are not to rule as religious leaders, but rather, they are to rule with loyalty and respect for …show more content…
This idea of the separation of religion from presidential leadership became a big debate in the 2008 Presidential elections when Mitt Romney joined the race. Some citizens believed that this bold Mormon would overly implement his religious beliefs and flip the nation upside down. This arousal of fear in people’s hearts caused Romney to act. In Mitt Romney’s “Faith in America,” he courageously utilizes unifying diction, voice merging, and familial metaphors in order to connect with his audience. He employs these devices to dispel his audience’s fear and re-emphasize his stance that while he will not pander or throw away his religion, Romney will always put the Constitution of the United States of America first.
Throughout his speech, Romney uses unifying diction to win the hearts of his audience and evoke a sense of unity and togetherness among him and the people of the United States. He states, “How we respond to today’s challenges will define our generation” (Romney 3). By referring to
…show more content…
By employing this rhetorical strategy, Romney is increasing his chances of winning the election. An example of a familial metaphor exists when Romney states, “You left us, your children, a free and strong America” (Romney 3). While addressing the current President, Romney depicts the rising leading generation as the children of the President. Comparing the rising generation to the children of the current leading generation, Romney powerfully creates another unifying element among the country, and depicts the nation as one big, happy family. The reason this rhetorical strategy is useful is because a family unit is natural to all humans. Everyone can relate to a family setting in one way, shape, or form. The family unit is where people can learn, grow, and make mistakes, while still being loved through it all. By using this familial metaphor, Romney is explaining that America is a place where everyone can make mistakes, learn, and grow together as a nation. This rhetorical move appeals to pathos, because Romney stresses the familial emotions of citizens, and assures them that as a unified nation, the United States will progress together as a family. Another example in which Romney uses a familial metaphor is when Romney states that “America faces a new generation of challenges” (Romney 3). Although some people may not

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Visuals that describe individuals waiting in long lines for “their voice” to be heard, and difference races, genders, social classes, ethnicities, parties, that make up what “we are, and always will be, the United States of America.” His third provision tells us to put our fears and worries aside for “the hope of a better day.” Here, Obama greatly appeals to pathos. He appeals to feelings of encouragement, possibilities, and hope. He also uses words such as “we” and “us,” bringing the listener and Obama to a more personal level.…

    • 1735 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    This commitment to religion which is apparent in two classic American text, William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation and Arthur Miller The Crucible served the colonists to help to shape American identity over the year ahead. In the text “Of Plymouth Plantation “ by William Bradford the author demonstrates the how…

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A current, but certainly not new, public policy issue is the debate that follows when a clash occurs between government and religion. In Obama’s Reformation, Adam J. White examines in detail many of the current debates ongoing in America today; from the current administration’s assault on Christian values, to what it means to the average citizen, and what we are likely to see in the near future. Socrates gave the philosophy of a democratic form of government to us, via Plato’s Republic. Aristotle, in the Rhetoric, taught us “the preservation of the city lies within its laws”.…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Barack Obama and John F. Kennedy were both candidates and presidents at incredibly pivotal time periods in history. As such they faced a wide range of rhetorical obstacles during their candidacy and time as presidents. A rhetorical obstacle is some outside force that can limit a rhetors’ main purpose or goal. A shared obstacle faced by both candidates was that of identity. Identity becomes an obstacle when a rhetors’ audience does not share “common goals/background, beliefs, values, etc.”…

    • 1277 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The authors intend to discover America’s history of religious sovereignty and focus on their government principles. The book is written from a perspective of people who are interested in determining the reasoning behind the “no religious test” not founded in the Constitution and how that effects religion and politics. The book opens up with a serious question at hand, Is America a Christian Nation? Evidence from the beginning of the book shows that religion should stay away from the political spheres, as America was founded as a Christian state.…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Each author has a way of expressing their intended purpose to their audience, many do so by using rhetorical strategies. A rhetorical device is a way to convey meaning or to persuade. Rhetorical strategies are found in every piece of writing but we generally do not realize it. In the speeches by Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, they use rhetorical strategies to convey their messages. In Tim O’Brien’s book The Things They Carried, rhetorical devices are found throughout his writing.…

    • 976 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Even though so many years have pass since creation the Constitution, Americans were and still are in the mindset that the Constitution was mostly created by religious motives of our forefathers and that this nation was built on religion. However, this is not the case. This is where The Godless Constitution by Issac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore comes into play. Throughout this book, these authors are going to try a convince the reader that this nation and its Constitution were in fact created separate from religion, the separation of Church and State. In this book we are given an inside look into what kind of relationship religion has with politics.…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the course of American history, we have never had such a more diverse set of religions than we do today. Which has brought of the question of how do we treat the differing religions in the realms of American politics, do we as the American people treat those who’s religions can grant problems or do we force said people to adhere to universal laws. Our first task is to first define what ‘special status’ is. For that we will look to the works of William McClay in ‘On Religious Liberty and Its Special Status in American Life’ as was written in a book that carries a collection of political writings ‘Liberty & Equality’ which was compiled by S. Adam Seagrave.…

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    George Washington was a highly favored and blessed man. A man of integrity, a man of valor, and an emboldened man who people loved. George Washington was a man of repute who was a monumental figure in founding our country. One of a kind and infamous in the eyes of our country. George Washington has placed his mark on history.…

    • 2252 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Adams grew up as a Congregationalist from Massachusetts, but, over time, transitioned to Unitarianism in a manner similar to that of Thomas Jefferson. He was strongly anti-Catholic because of the Catholic Church’s political influence, and anti-clerical because of the artificial titles and spiritual authority it gave to men. Convinced that moral happiness was tied to a religious foundation, Adams articulated that “there is no such thing [as morality] without a supposition of a God [and] there is no right or wrong in the universe without the supposition of a moral government and an intellectual and moral governor” . This indicates that Adams believed that the nonexistence of God meant the nonexistence of morality and, consequentially, the nonexistence of the rights and the wrongs, or the virtues; Adams deems such virtues and moralities necessary to govern American citizen’s moral lives and promote the civic activity that he…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Thus, rather than a recitation of America’s history, the phrase “under God” stands as an active guarantee of loyalty to the America as a…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Strength of Words Together How many times do parents, teachers, or friends give instructions or ask a favor in return of nothing other than the casual nod? Their words hushed by the blandness of their rhetoric. Individuals carry many responsibilities and jobs to live life. Their day-to-day schedule ever changing by the abruptness and difficulties life brings.…

    • 1483 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    To introduce himself and start his speech Obama talks about his family’s history. Going all the way back to his grandparent’s time, Obama discusses his family’s humble beginnings. Then, tracing his family’s history to the present, Obama explains how it was through the mercy and generosity of America that he was able to get to where he is today. By starting his speech with an introduction to his family 's history, Obama makes it clear that he is a true American, and that he is one and the same as the rest of the voters. This makes Obama seem like a reliable source of information to the listeners.…

    • 1127 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The voices we use every day may not seem to be of importance when thinking about an individual’s identity, however the human voice is something worth paying attention to. Some people have different voices that they use for different environments, while others have one main voice they use to communicate with people in their surroundings. In “Speaking in Tongues”, Zadie Smith explains the up and downsides of speaking with more than one voice, as it can either provide flexibility for things in life or come off as unauthentic for the speaker. Having many different voices can be a result of imitating languages from other cultures through memes, as people will tend to pick up on all different kinds of accents and languages and put them to their…

    • 2354 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the following, Barack Obama´s victory speech, which was held in November 2012 after being re-elected as President of the United States of America, will be analysed. Generally, one can say that Obama sends a message of shared values and hopes by using rhetorical devices and structuring his line of arguments in a way that establishes a connection and a feeling of togetherness and involvement in his actions in the audience, for example by the usage of pronouns like “we”. Now, a closer look will be taken at the line of argument.…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays