On the evening of September 11, 2001, several hours after the terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush appealed for national and international unity in a simple speech from the Oval Office. Somehow, his ordinary, predictable speech, looks much different when examined 19 years later. For Bush did not use the speech to attack his political rivals, vent personal grievances, or stoke ethnic prejudices. Instead, he pledged the nation to unite in common values.
In his second sentence, Bush reminded the nation that the terrorists’ victims were ordinary people going about ordinary business:
“The victims were in airplanes or in their offices: secretaries, business men and women, military and federal workers, moms and dads, friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.”
Warning that the terrorists intended to drive the United States into disunity, Bush said that “These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation to chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong.”
Bush then reminded the American people, rather idealistically, of our founding values:
“These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve. America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.”
Look at the unifying, value-laden words he used: “brightest beacon,” “freedom and opportunity,” and a shining light. He didn’t just talk about freedom and opportunity for our own people – no America First rhetoric – but “freedom and opportunity in the world.” Unity. Bush then said that the correct response to evil was to turn to goodness. He presented a picture of Americans working together regardless of differences to help one another.
Earlier Post: Barack Obama’s Farewell Speech: Can’t We Listen
to One Another?
Bush called us to “the best of America:”
“Today, our nation saw evil - the very worst of human nature - and we responded with the best of America. With the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.”
After promising a massive military and diplomatic response to the terrorists, Bush thanked the politicians, allies and world leaders who united to fight terrorism:
“I appreciate so very much the members of Congress who have joined me in strongly condemning these attacks. And on behalf of the American people, I thank the many world leaders who have called to offer their condolences and assistance. America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against terrorism.”
“This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace.”
Of course, no one ever fully lives up to their ideals, but that isn’t the point. The point is that Bush took a remarkably positive outlook. He did not attack the Democratic Party. He said nothing against Muslims, even though, by that point, his advisers had identified the terrorists and told him about Al Qaeda’s involvement. Instead, Bush praised the nation for coming together. He promised that the nation and the world would continue to unite against evil, again, “to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.”
I never supported President George W. Bush’s policies. Richard A. Clark, one of the United States’ leading terrorism experts, pointed out in his important book, Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror, that Bush had ignored repeated warnings that Al Qaeda posed a major threat. After 9/11, as Bob Woodward showed in his book Plan of Attack, Bush worried more about Iraq than Al Qaeda. Nor can I agree with Bush’s haphazard, scattershot response to Middle Eastern problems, a response that led to violence and chaos that continues to kill American military personnel even today. Bush quickly squandered the international goodwill that his 9/11 speech produced so warmly. Still, let’s note that his 9/11 speech made a serious effort to pull people together. That, as far as it goes, is commendable.
Public speeches can unite or divide us. Today, in 2020, our nation’s biggest enemy is an act of nature, a viral pandemic whose harvest of death is killing far more people than who died on 9/11. Yet, our government and population alike stubbornly refuse to unite against the common enemy. Although 9/11 led to many conspiracy theories, the bizarre belief that 9/11 was a planned demolition never gained political traction. No one went so far as to claim that the attacks were a hoax. So, what has gone wrong with us today?
Earlier Post: Speeches About Conspiracies: How Can We Tell if a Conspiracy is Real?
Theoretical notes:
- In this case, President George W. Bush rose to the occasion, at least temporarily. He responded to what communication professor Lloyd Bitzer calls an exigence. That is, he responded to an occasion that called for speech. The public needed to know what the President had to say, and Bush came through. Last year, I wrote about a speech in which Pope Francis, who I admire in many ways, failed to respond to the exigence of church child abuse.
- Also, my book about the 1896
PS: Once again, thanks to Martin J. Medhurst and the good people at AmericanRhetoric.com for preparing a verbatim transcript of Bush’s speech as delivered. It’s not as easy as it looks.
Image: Official Dept. of Defense Photo
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