Michael Gerson: The Largest Failure of President Obama's Era
Michael Gerson compiles an abundance of pathos and diction to cause Americans to fear for their country. Gerson intends to strike fear into the hearts of Americans through his appeals to emotion. Current tragedies in Syria such as "a small body in a red t-shirt against a distant shore" (Gerson) are described in reference to the unwinnable war Obama is accused of starting. Children are a sensitive subject, especially dead ones and including these descriptions within the column strike a heartstring. Putting an image of a dead four year old boy in the minds of the readers in association with the President Obama is intended to cause panic for the nation and persuade the audience to question Obama's ethics. Tragedies in Syria are further utilized to persuade the audience against the President when Gerson opens his passage with a series of facts about deaths and executions associated with the war. While the facts contribute to the logic and credibility of the columnist they are primarily placed within the text to appeal to emotions of grief and fear; if Obama can affect a foreign country to this severity then what is to become of America? Gerson destroys any hope his audience may have had for America through his choice of diction. In reference to Syria, Gerson drops the phrase "grave yard of American credibility" (Gerson). Through this incriminating statement Gerson implies Obama has not and will not carry out the promises he made to the nation. This simple example of diction is enough to strike an arrow of doubt and worry through US citizens for America prides itself on the level of respect it receives from other countries. Gerson also provides America with a new definition: the "vacuum of sovereignty" (Gerson). Sovereignty itself is a relatively positive word however when placed behind the word vacuum, it causes one to assume America's President is greedy and dictator-like as similar descriptions have been used in reference to Adolf Hitler. Greed and dictatorship are not words citizens wish their country to be associated with since Americas constitution screams freedom, world support and godliness. Michael Gerson exceeded in creating panic and urgency within his audience through multiple emotional descriptions combined with a powerful diction.