John F Kennedy gave his inaugural address leading up to the height of the Cold War to not only the American people, but the entire world. Tensions had been rising with the Soviet Union and they showed no signs of slowing down. From his speech the his country and the world demanded a passionate pledge to make things better while diplomatic tensions forced him to choose his words carefully, as they were delicate and could easily light the fuse for hot war if he misspoke. His audience was both a hopeful group of his own citizens and a strained enemy walking the line between peace and war. In a time when the world was on eggshells from the constant threat of nuclear weapons, the leader of the most powerful country in the world was faced with outlining
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Kennedy skillfully uses reductionism to one of the most complex and daunting foreign affairs, the relationship with the Soviet Union, to a palatable pledge for respect and cooperation: “Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us” The problems which divide the West and the East at this point could not be any more glaring and complex. It is a clash of values at the fundamental level and cooperation appears to be impossible. However both sides are trying to avoid the most glaring issue: nuclear war, and for that Kennedy calls for diplomacy. For the Americans listening at home, they only need to understand one thing about the conflict: cooperation will allow for peace. President Kennedy uses a plethora of anaphora throughout the speech in order to turn complex issues that the country and the world faces into memorable and simple lists of goals so that Americans may easily carry it with them in their daily lives as they try to help improve the country. There are two main section of anaphora. The first is the pledge section where Kennedy crafts a code of conduct for Americans to follow as they go about improving the country with Kennedy: “We pledge the loyalty of faithful friends… we
Kennedy skillfully uses reductionism to one of the most complex and daunting foreign affairs, the relationship with the Soviet Union, to a palatable pledge for respect and cooperation: “Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us” The problems which divide the West and the East at this point could not be any more glaring and complex. It is a clash of values at the fundamental level and cooperation appears to be impossible. However both sides are trying to avoid the most glaring issue: nuclear war, and for that Kennedy calls for diplomacy. For the Americans listening at home, they only need to understand one thing about the conflict: cooperation will allow for peace. President Kennedy uses a plethora of anaphora throughout the speech in order to turn complex issues that the country and the world faces into memorable and simple lists of goals so that Americans may easily carry it with them in their daily lives as they try to help improve the country. There are two main section of anaphora. The first is the pledge section where Kennedy crafts a code of conduct for Americans to follow as they go about improving the country with Kennedy: “We pledge the loyalty of faithful friends… we