Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Neo-Aristotelian Analysis of Reagan's Evil Empire Speech
The speech that later on came to be widely referred to as the Evil Empire Speech was delivered to and before Annual Convention of the National Association of Evangelicals in March 8, 1983. It has been considered to be one of the most effective speeches that President Reagan delivered within a few minutes. He endeared himself to the audience when he gave a clear outline of the legal and structural approach that he had lined up to handle the issue of infanticide, which included the restructuring of the way the recipients of the Federal funds who provide health care services will operate and treat the handicapped infants. On tis, he declares that there is a great spiritual awakening in America hence the congregation and nation at large should not lose hope.
The speech was informed by the prevailing political situation, the moral discussions and even the religious discourse at the moment. At the moment, there was the contentious issue of nuclear arms race and the need to make the world a safe place for the present and future generations, the issue of the morality behind abortion was at all time high and the previous year there was the highest rate of infanticide than ever seen before. These were the three issues that informed the speech that President Reagan delivered before the church congregation.
Since he was addressing a Christian congregation, Reagan strived, and successfully so, to appeal to the pathos or emotions of the listeners by constantly making Biblical references. On the issue of abortion, Reagan indicates that all unborn babies should have their right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness respected. He also picks out the proposition by the opposition to have daughters give their parents the notice before abortion as a contravention of the traditional values and abrogation of the original terms of American...
...
Regarding the nuclear weapons, Reagan points out that it is the moral obligation of each citizen to stand up against the intention of the Soviet Union to make America military and morally inferior. Here he contrasted the evil and the moral, with the Soviet Union being the evil empire that had to be stopped at all costs. He pointed out the need to have a reduction agreement of both the U.S. and the Soviet Union weapons knowing that since the U.S. had more military might, in such an arrangement, the U.S. still remained to win and be superior.
The speech, as discussed above met the tenets of a Neo-Aristotelian perspective of the discourse which mainly looks into the antecedent of the speech, purpose of the speech that the speaker hoes to achieve, the success of the intended purpose on the audience. Reagan crafted his speech based on the proposal by the opposition on abortion, the high rates of infanticide and the global trends on nuclear weapon…
" (Abrogate means to "Abolish by authoritative action"). Here is a fear appeal by Reagan; in other words, if the conservative Christian movement doesn't stand up to the liberals who want progressive policies on abortion, those liberals will destroy democracy. After criticizing the people who stand for things that the Christian conservative movement opposes, and clearly staking out his position as a "good" president who opposes "evil" things in society, Reagan
Neo-Aristotelian Analysis of Ronald Reagan's "Evil Empire" Speech When President Ronald Reagan delivered his historic "evil empire" speech in 1982, America's enemies were well-known as consisted most especially of the former Soviet Union. Children born since the turn of the 21st century have never known as world that had a Berlin Wall or an East and West Germany, and even observers at the time of the Soviet Union's collapse in
Ronald Reagan's Evil Empire Speech President Ronald Reagan made the Evil Empire speech at a time when the United States was experiencing several challenges and issues. Some of these challenges include growing tension of nuclear arms race, increased controversy about abortion, and high infanticide rates in 1982. The president decided to address these issues through a speech that was made during the Annual Convention of the National Association of Evangelicals
E. The voices who argue that America should and could be an imperial superpower, but lacks sound practical judgment. The thesis of this paper is that the history of the Roman Empire can be matched to that of the United States in terms of economy, political power, as well as aspirations. In this sense, present day America is very similar to fourth of even fifth century Rome; this poses one stringent
45). There are also important racial issues that are examined throughout "A Touch of Evil"; these are accomplished through what Nerrico (1992) terms "visual representations of 'indeterminate' spaces, both physical and corporeal"; the "bordertown and the half-breed, la frontera y el mestizo: a space and a subject whose identities are not fractured but fracture itself, where hyphens, bridges, border stations, and schizophrenia are the rule rather than the exception" (Nericcio,
European Security and Defense Policy: Development and Prospects United States Attitudes toward European Defense The Background to the Dilemma: In December of 1991, the Soviet Union - Ronald Reagan's "Evil Empire" - ceased to exist. Communism was dead. The Cold War over. Long live freedom and democracy! The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was replaced by a weak and impoverished federation of fifteen republics. America stood alone. She had become - in