This week in technical writing we continued our discussion on rhetoric. More spicifically what makes up a rhetorical situation. It was summed up in three parts, an exigence, constraint, and audience. An exigence being the expectation of the speach or the reason to speak, constraint being what should not be said, and audience being who is listening. We looked at a speech Obama gave containing these three things, and I have to wonder how something that contains these three parts is still rhetorical? I understand that the three parts are necessary for a rhetorical situation, but where is the line drawn between something you want to speak about and persuade people of, and what you are required to speak about because the timing is right?
What if we had a president who was completely against all the things Obama said in his speech, regarding the mosque near Ground Zero, and how Islamic people should be treated (not that this would be a good thing)? Would he still be required to speak about this topic? Disregarding Obamas topic (being a completely unpolitical person), I thought you used rhetoric to persuade people of a topic that you want to talk about. I am left wondering if these rhetorical situation criteria might cause people to be hypocritical of their own beliefs in certain situations. Do people always have to talk about something because there is an expectaion at the time to talk about it? If it is your duty to address something you personally dont believe in, would this still be rhetoric?
Your question, "Do people always have to talk about something because there is an expectation at the time to talk about it." is interesting. I believe that leaders especially must respond though I'm uncertain if everyone must. I remember in High School when my basketball coach had to tell our team that a classmate had died in an automobile accident. I do not believe that he wanted to talk about it, but as our coach he had to. What would it have been like if President Bush had not addressed the nation after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 or if President Roosevelt had not spoke after the attack on Pearl Harbor?
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