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Allison Smith

Professor Williams

English Composition 1101

17 October 2020

Deaf In the Military

Have you ever wanted something so bad but everyone told you that you can't?

Keith Nolan a deaf man who is a proud Cadet Private in the Army. He had a Ted Talk in

2011 about how people can still serve even if they have a disability of hearing loss.

Keith has wanted to serve his country for the longest time he’s known. The only problem

was everywhere he went he was disqualified time and time again. In the speech, he

used rhetorical strategies like pathos, ethos and logos which made me more invested in

what he had to say. People didn’t believe that it could be possible that someone with the

inability to hear can be in the Military. Keith didn’t give up, he fought for what he wanted

and he made his dream come true.

During his speech I felt he did a superior job reasoning why deaf people

should be in the military. Keith used ethos as a credibility, during the speech he

had his uniform on and had the experience in the topic. Which leads people to

believe he is reliable and the audience is more able to be persuaded. In the

video, you can see at the end the audience was persuaded by raising their arms
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in the air and twisting their hands. In Sign Language that is the concept of

applause.

As a logos rhetoric strategy he said “If you remember back in US history, African-

Americans were told they couldn’t join the military, and now they serve. Women as well

were banned, but now they've been allowed. The military has and is changing. Today is

our time. Now it’s our turn. That was the most effective part in the speech. He also

stated that you can join if you were already disabled before enlisting, the US Military

jobs, and 80% are non-combat positions. Saying this shows you have many options

when you go to enlist in the Military.

Lastly, he used pathos during the whole speech and was effective. In the speech,

he stated “ I have various family members, such as my grandfather and great-uncle,

who fought in World War II. And like them, I wanted the same thing: to serve my

country. So the question is: Can I? No, I can’t. Why? Simply because I’m deaf ”. Since

he mentioned his family into this, I felt empathetic towards him for also wanting to follow

in his past generation footsteps but not being allowed to. Another time in his speech

where he used pathos as a strategy was when he was talking about how he wanted to

receive a uniform but didn’t have any because he wasn't first accepted in. “We see your

motivation, you show up every morning, dedicated, and always give 110% effort”. Once

he went to the warehouse to get his uniform, he said he felt privileged and that it was an

honor to be in.

After listening to his Ted Talk it opened my eyes and wondered if they could help

the same as anyone else. In the beginning I questioned it but listening to his story was
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very persuasive . He had solid reasons and facts that proved everyone wrong. I think

we could learn from him being confident in yourself, knowing what you are saying and

proving it, and lastly to follow your dreams.

Deaf in the Military. Performance by Keith Nolan, 2011. TED, TED Conferences,

LLC. All rights reserved., www.ted.com/talks/

keith_nolan_deaf_in_the_military/

transcript?

utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare.

Accessed 17 Oct. 2020.