Then former prime minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher, recited a eulogy in 2004 in remembrance of former President of the United States Ronald Reagan on how both world leaders were so close. Thatcher’s purpose to speak about President Ronald Reagan was to show how great of a leader Reagan was during the political upheaval during the Cold War. She adopts a heartwarming tone in order to show the citizens of the United States the level of leadership and heroism he incorporated when trying to prevent two countries from the destroying the Earth and humanity itself. Thatcher begins the eulogy towards President Reagan by mentioning that not just the citizens of the United States has lost a great president but that the whole democratic world has lost a great and influential man. She uses many …show more content…
The first sentence states,” Others prophesied the decline of the West. He inspired America and its allies with renewed faith in their mission of freedom .” In the first six sentences , she repeatedly uses “Others” (Reagan’s rivals) and “He” (President Reagan) as opposites facing each other during the climax of the Cold War. Next, Thatcher uses dialogue spoken between President Ronald Reagan and the leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev at the Geneva Summit. When talking about problems plaguing both the first world and second world powerhouses, Ronald Reagan told the leader of the country that he had been in constant conflict, “Let me tell you why we distrust you.” The level of professionalism and nerves required to deliver such a sentence to a world leader is something great, heroic men can only dream of. Finally, Thatcher uses the personification of the words Reagan told Gorbachev during a very taxing, toxic world-wide situation. She described Regan’s words as ,”candid and tough,” as giving the words weight and significance in the sense of human
When Reagan says “We come to Berlin, we American presidents, because it is our duty to speak, in this place, of freedom” he is acknowledging
Lyn Nofziger, one of Reagan’s closest political advisors, once said “The nation needed a Jimmy Carter, in order to truly appreciate a Ronald Reagan.” According to Robert Collins, Nofziger is correct. We do, indeed, need to grasp the nature and extent of America’s vexing problems in the 1970s in order to understand Ronald Reagan’s presidency and to assess the claim that the 1980s makes on our attention as a distinctive and significant historical era with a unique tenor (Collins 7). Robert Collins starts off his book by saying that Reagan was an “event-making hero.” Event-making heroes are not merely “in the right place at the right time”; their impact is more profound than that because they are, in a real sense, “irreplaceable.”
During her eulogy, she discusses his effort against Russia throughout his presidency, and the victory against them is one of Reagan's greatest accomplishments. She creates a picture of a comparison between Reagan, who is presented as the hero and Russia as the villain. It is clear that Thatcher sees Reagan as a great leader of our country, she paints him as a powerful leader who defeated a threat towards us and showed great skills to be able to rule and lead our country. Thatcher repeatedly mentions Russia throughout her eulogy, when talking about them, she uses words such as "enemies" "evil empire" "weaknesses" "failures" and "communism" a drastic contrast from the words she used for him such as " freshness" "a man of good" "sincere." The contrast alludes to the idea that Reagan was the good guy, who defeated the evils of Russia, a proud success of his presidency.
Pres. Reagan’s speech encompassed all that was wrong in the world in his eyes to what could be the future for all humanity. He focused on the lack of amenities for individuals under a dominant communist leadership. He asserts the economic struggles of the people of Berlin since the spring of 1945, where “the people of Berlin emerge from their area shelters to find devastation”, as he spoke out “against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos”.
In lines 30 through 39 Thatcher retells the views of others and what they expected of Reagan, then counters them with Reagan’s responses. She remarks that “Others hoped, at best, for an uneasy cohabitation with the Soviet Union. He won the Cold War” (35-6). This strategy of recounting what was expected or thought and providing evidence as to how these standards were met with flying colors serves the purpose of crediting Reagan as a great president. Thatcher also uses this strategy in the statements “Others saw only limits to growth.
Ronald Reagan’s presidencies are commonly referred to as “The Reagan Era,” which was full of ups and downs. He was strongly supported for his familiar and casual rhetoric, although it often reflected his lack of knowledge on the topics he dealt with. One occurrence where his amiable and humorous demeanor settled itself negatively within his career was in 1984 when he “...made a joke about bombing Russia. The recording was transmitted to the press…” (History.com). This slip revealed how reckless of a figure Reagan was, and gave the public reason to question his adaptation of what is appropriate at the executive level, thus questioning his credibility.
As she said in the first paragraph, “his policies had a freshness and optimism that won converts from every class and every nation.” This shows that he was able to unite not only the American people, but also other countries during the horrible times of fighting communism. Reagan not only “embodied another great cause,” he had the ability to take on great challenges such as “the heart of the evil empire” and defeating them. Thatcher creates a casual diction through the use of the words such as “baffled” and “evil empire” to connect with the majority of the people of America, not only the educated. Thatcher’s diction show that he would always remain positive and hopeful in the darkest of times and had inspiring and influential qualities shown
Vargas 5 Ronald Reagan: America’s Leading Man Ronald Reagan, only movie actor to become president, was recognized for his conservative republicanism, fervent anticommunism, policies contributing to demise of the Soviet Union, appealing personal style, skilled as an orator which earned him the title “Great Communicator.” (Britannica) However, Reagan didn’t get this recognition easily, he worked really hard to get to there. Reagan got his start in politics in a televised 1964 address.
Thatcher shows her affection and her admiration to Reagan by applying these three rhetorical devices. She speaks with a precise and smooth style while managing to clearly express her purpose. Thatcher creates a sense of reminisce of her late associate and former president by using informal tone, to construct a relationship between the reader and the late President Ronald
His inclusion of analogies and emotional appeals, combined with his strong sense of authority, brings his arguments into focus and gives them a punch. His power in delivering this speech quite possibly kept America looking towards the stars and propelled them into the next age of space exploration. President Reagan’s speech serves as a touching conclusion to a tragic event. Despite the terrible catastrophe, Reagan’s four-minute speech provided closure on the one-minute tragedy whose impact will be felt for
Informing Americans that she worked with Reagan for eight years lets the citizens know that Thatcher and Reagan could have possibly knew a lot about each other. Thatcher uses ethos successfully in her eulogy because Americans can believe every single word that she says about
During a funeral for Reverend Clementa Pinckney, a Charleston shooting victim, President Obama delivered an influential eulogy. This eulogy turned out to be so powerful that it traveled throughout the internet and became known as one of Obama’s best speeches from the duration of his presidency. The speech resonated so well with many citizens because of its relatable content and connections to passionate issues in today’s society. The delivery of the eulogy played a gigantic part in its effectiveness to Americans as well. President Obama’s eulogy contained beyond relatable content and various connections to the issues racking society’s bones today.
Toner’s three O’s, owing, ordering, and oughting. According to the Barnes Center lesson on Ethical Leadership a leader who possesses this strength shows that they owe others respect and dignity, they understand that they are ordered to do what is right no matter what, they are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, and understand that they ought to do what is needed to help others no matter how hard that may be. Churchill knew this and it was never more evident than when gave a speech in 1946 from the U.S denouncing the Soviet’s propaganda of spreading communism. According to History.com, Winston Churchill accused the Soviet Union of being the biggest threat to Christian civilization and for trying to spread communism throughout the world.
In the eulogy delivered by Margaret Thatcher, former prime minister of Great Britain and close friend of the late Ronald Reagan, Thatcher uses rhetorical strategies to gain the empathy and raise the morale of the American people. With the language she uses, Thatcher paints Reagan as a savior of his countrymen and hero to even his political enemies. Throughout the eulogy, Thatcher presents Reagan as a friend, not only to her, but to the world. She speaks of “Ronnie” as a man who was beyond his abilities and could mend a broken nation with his words.
The rhetorical elements, logos and pathos, included in Ronald Reagan’s speech, “ Tear Down This Wall” assist Reagan and his words to convince Gorbachev, along with the people of Berlin, that the wall between eastern and western Berlin must be dismantled. Logos is an appeal to logic, or a way of persuading an audience by reason. Reagan provides details of how other countries have reached a state of freedom, at the same time have maintained a strong financial background. In “Tear Down This Wall” logos is used to show that countries who are not separated by a wall are thriving economically. For example, Reagan explained, “in the West today, we see a free world that has achieved a level of prosperity and well-being unprecedented in all human history.”