Kennedy's West Berlin Speech

Kennedy West Berlin: Ethos, Pathos and Logos
Introduction
Ethos, pathos and logos are rhetorical modes of persuasion. Ethos appeals to the ethics of listener by reflecting the character of the speaker. Pathos appeals to the emotions. And logos appeals to reason or logic (Sproat, Driscoll & Brizee, 2012). Kennedy employed all three modes of rhetoric in his famous West Berlin speech in 1963, when he highlighted the inhumanity of the Wall, the oppression of the Germans under the Soviet system, and the meaning of freedom, as well as in many other ways. This paper will examine these ways to show how Kennedy applied these rhetorical devices in his West Berlin speech in 1963.
Ethos
The appeal to ethics through the reflection of his own character was made by Kennedy when he began making the distinction between right and wrong in his speech. He did it not by identifying specifically what was good and what was bad but rather by intimation and suggestion. For example, he began his speech by framing the issue, the problem, the conflict between “the free world and the Communist world” (Kennedy, 1963) by stating: “There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world” (Kennedy, 1963). His answer? “Let them come to Berlin” (Kennedy, 1963). He phrased the issue in this manner, subtly suggesting the problem without ever coming out and stating it clearly himself, instead letting others and their questions serve as the instruments for highlighting the ethical reason for why the Soviets were wrong in Berlin and wrong in fact in their whole way of thinking: “There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin.” By simply telling his audience to come and see for itself how well the West could work with the Soviets, he was saying, “Don’t listen to me, come and see for yourself how impossible it is to get along with the Communists: they built a Wall between us and them—they do not want peace. They are different! They want to control everything under them in their own way, whereas we are free!” This was what Kennedy was saying between the lines: “And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin” (Kennedy, 1963). In other words, Communism was not a means to an end any more than it was a good system: it was neither. Kennedy thus lays out the ethical appeal in his speech right at the outset, using the complaints of others as a way to frame the ethical reasons for why the U.S. must stand with West Berlin.
Pathos
The appeal to the emotions comes by way of Kennedy’s frequent allusion to the wall as a symbol of separation and inhumanity, in the identification of the suffering of the people of Berlin, and in the idea that the Communist system is “an offense against humanity, separating families, dividing husbands and wives and brothers and sisters, and dividing a people who wish to be joined together” (Kennedy, 1963). Kennedy thus appeals to the idea that Communism destroys families. He appeals to the good feelings that the idea of family naturally produces in the minds of people and then associates this concept of family with the brutality of Communism which is bent on destroying families and keeping them apart. He appeals to the pride of the people in West Berlin for staying so brave and steadfast in the face of Soviet aggression. Kennedy acknowledges his own separation from the Berliners (one of space—which is not deliberate) by stating: “I want to say, on behalf of my countrymen, who live many miles away on the other side of the Atlantic, who are far distant from you, that they take the greatest pride that they have been able to share with you, even from a distance, the story of the last 18 years. I know of no town, no city, that has been besieged for 18 years that still lives with the vitality and the force, and the hope and the determination of the city of West Berlin” (Kennedy, 1963). Kennedy’s emotional appeal is based on the idea that the basic family unit in Berlin has been crushed by the Communist system—and that larger family unit, that of all free-thinking peoples, has suffered—for really everyone of the West is part of the same family, and while they may be divided by an ocean, they are still are pulling for one another. Thus, by showing his support and admiration of the Germans, he complete his emotional appeal.
Logos
The appeal to logic and reason is made in the final section of the speech. Kennedy moves on from establishing his own credentials as a speaker—a man of ethics with whom other men of ethics will sympathize, and from making his emotional appeal, to appealing to the logic of thinking individuals. He identifies the reasons that the Communist system is bad for Germans and for all people: “What is true of this city is true of Germany--real, lasting peace in Europe can never be assured as long as one German out of four is denied the elementary right of free men, and that is to make a free choice” (Kennedy, 1963). Kennedy argues that without freedom, Germany is in the grave. He shows that Germans have the right to be free because they have earned it: “In 18 years of peace and good faith, this generation of Germans has earned the right to be free, including the right to unite their families and their nation in lasting peace, with good will to all people. You live in a defended island of freedom, but your life is part of the main” (Kennedy, 1963). He closes by arguing that when any one individual is enslaved, no one can be free—i.e., so long as the Wall exists and the Communist system is preventing Germans from making free choices, no one in the world is safe; no one in the world can really can the world free. What happens to one, happens to all, Kennedy reasons, for “freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. When all are free, then we can look forward to that day when this city will be joined as one and this country and this great Continent of Europe in a peaceful and hopeful globe” (Kennedy, 1963). Thus, his logical appeal is concluded with a vision of the world to come if only the Soviets wake up and realize that freedom is what can bring about peace and a new era of well-being
Conclusion
In conclusion, Kennedy wraps up his speech by combining the elements of ethos, pathos, and logos in his final remark: “All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’” (Kennedy, 1963). He identifies himself (ethos), appeals to the pride of the audience of Germans (pathos), and defines freedom as universal—a spirit that equates all free men together as identical (logos). He uses the words of the German language to convey the idea that Kennedy is one of them—the ultimate appeal of solidarity that brings ethos, logs and pathos together in one swooping statement.
References
Kennedy, J. F. (1963). West Berlin speech. Retrieved from
https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/JFK-Speeches/Berlin-W-Germany-Rudolph-Wilde-Platz_19630626.aspx
Sproat, E., Driscoll, D. & Brizee, A. (2012). Aristotle’s rhetorical situation. Retrieved
from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/625/03/