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Oklahoma Bombing Memorial Prayer Service Address

Rhetorical Situation - ASPECT

Audience

Governor Keating, Mrs. Keating, Reverend Graham, families of those who have been lost and wounded, the people of Oklahoma, and Americans

Speaker

William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States

Purpose

To comfort, to heal, to move on and grow

Exigence

The Oklahoma Bombing, which killed 168 people and injuring 800 people, was the deadliest act of homegrown terrorism in the US. This prompted for Clinton to write this piece.

Context

This speech was given in response to the Oklahoma bombing incident to address the victims and their families as well as provide reassurance to all Americans

Thesis

Clinton’s sympathizes with victims of the Oklahoma bombing, and in response to the public, he provides comfort and reassurance victims and their families, as well as addressing America as a whole.

Ethos, Logos, and Pathos

Ethos

  • Clinton is the president of the United States, giving him authority to speak and address America as a whole
  • Talks about how he has received letters about the recent terrible days, explicitly referring to Pan Am 103
  • Religious references, stating that “the God of comfort is also the God of righteousness” as well as quoting St. Paul “Let us not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”
  • The quote from the women and words of the Governor

Pathos

  • Acknowledging the audience’s grief and pain
  • Mentions justice and righteousness, by doing so it associates these strong feelings to back his claim of moving on and getting the justice that the people of America deserve
  • Mentions how we teach our children to be fearless and courageous, ultimately going off that fact to back his claims

Logos

  • Acknowledges the fact that a terrible sin took the lives of many people, and we should be grateful for those who provided assistance
  • Acknowledges the audience’s personal connections, and mentions the amount of pain they must be going through, but reminds that there is no “undo”
  • Compares this situation to a tree which takes a long time to grow, and wounds taking long time to heal

RAPS

  1. In the Oklahoma Bombing Memorial Prayer Service Address, Clinton’s patriotic diction actively reassures victims, families, and American, acknowledging “forces that threaten our common peace, our freedom, and way of life” and to “stand against the forces of fear”
  2. Clinton employs anaphora in his speech addressing the Oklahoma bombings to promote a sense of unity among the audience, how “You say them at church… You know them in ways… your pain is unimaginable” and “Let us let our own children know that we will stand against forces of fear… let us stand up and talk against it… let us honor life…”
  3. As a public response to the Oklahoma Bombing, Clinton’s religious allusion of God being in control provides reassurance to the victims and families affected, claiming how “We cannot undo it [the feelings of grief and pain]. That is God’s work” and how “Those who are lost now belong to God”