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Kaleb Kauscher

Prof. Strehle

ENG-1101

15 October 2020

An Attack on Freedom

“Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger

we have found our mission and our moment. Freedom and fear are at war.” These powerful

sentences were a part of George W. Bush’s speech to a joint session of Congress on September

20, 2001, following the attacks of 9/11. His speech was about the terrorist group behind the

attacks and informing the public that their attacks will not go unanswered, and that the United

States was now at war. He reminded his audience that we are not at war against a country or a

group, nor even the terrorist groups in the Middle East, but against terrorism on a global scale.

President Bush’s speech was emotionally stimulating and reassuring through his tone of voice,

his praise of the first responders and citizens, his declaration of those responsible for the attacks,

and his plan of attack against those responsible.

Bush’s speech on September 20 was a powerful motivator for the American public,

government, and military. His speech manages to incite an extreme feeling of Patriotism in the

public’s mind. “We’ve seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood,

the saying of prayers… My fellow citizens, for the last nine days, the entire world has seen for

itself the state of our Union – and it is strong.” His words appeal to a public riddled with grief

and sorrow and tells them that the people responsible will pay. Many aspects of Bush’s speech

appeal to pathos in an attempt to console the American public. Because the world was grieving,

Bush’s words were an attempt to bring comfort when comfort was needed.
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Bush, being America’s president at the time, is one of, if not the most, credible person in

the nation to speak on this topic. Bush gets all of his information from the governmental agencies

responsible for figuring out who conducted these attacks, the loss of life of not only the citizens

of his nation, but of every nation that lost a citizen, and of the humanitarian aid from the

government and foreign governments. All of these topics help establish his credibility as a

person who knows this topic. Being an unspoken truth, Bush easily appeals to ethos, or

credibility, with his role of President. His role as the head of state was one who must show

courage, strength, and commitment. His speech did that to a grieving nation.

He continues by giving us some facts about the United States’ military history, more

specifically, where we have fought wars. “On September the 11th, enemies of freedom committed

an act of war against our country. Americans have known wars – but for the past 136 years, they

have been wars on foreign soil, except for one Sunday in 1941.” Every war we have fought or act

of war against us has not been on US soil, except for Pearl Harbor and now the World Trade

Center. He also gives us the information that many people have been asking for. “Who attacked

our country?... a collection of loosely affiliated terrorist organizations known as al Qaeda.” By

giving this information to the public, Bush appeals to the rhetorical element of logos.

If one were to listen to the speech, one would not hear a monotone voice with no emotion

in it. One hears a voice with emotion, Bush’s voice is a powerful voice of a man who has lost

something. Being able to hear a speech can greatly change the effectiveness of the speech. As in

this case just reading the transcription is enough to feel emotional. But when a person listens to

the speech it is completely different. Bush is able to speak clearly and easily change the emotions

portrayed by his voice, from grief and sorrow, to proud and vengeful.
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The best portrayal of his emotion through his voice is when he informs Congress of the

demands that the US has of the Taliban. “Deliver to United States authorities all the leaders of al

Qaeda who hide in your land. Release all foreign nationals, including American citizens, you

have unjustly imprisoned…. These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion.” When

one listens to this part of his speech the audience can hear his voice and it gives them the chills.

It is a voice of vengeance and dedication, yet proud and civilized. The audience gets even more

chills when he announces that “From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or

support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.” The authority that

Bush projects is one that suggests he is in command.

Overall President Bush’s speech was a masterpiece. It managed to invoke extreme

emotions out of the audience with the help of rhetorical elements including ethos, pathos, and

logos. He is an incredibly talented speaker who can get his point across easily and persuade

people just by changing the tone of his voice depending on what he talks about. The best part of

his speech was his ability to turn sorrow and grief into a strong feeling of patriotism by praising

the first responders and citizens who helped, along with his declaration against al Qaeda and all

countries and groups who would aid them. His words of comfort were necessary to a nation

reeling from the attack, and his message attempted to bring comfort to those who were struggling

to find peace.
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Work Cited

Bush, W. George. Joint Session of Congress, United States Government, 20 September 2001,

Chamber of House of Representatives, Washington D.C., Maryland. Address