“We are stronger today than we were a year ago. And we will be stronger a year from now than we are today. This is our moment to meet and overcome the challenges of our time. And we will, as one people. One America. The United States of America. God bless you all. And may God protect our troops.”How did he work toward that theme? The theme of unity? Indeed, throughout the speech, Biden took a unifying approach to controversial issues on foreign and domestic issues alike. With that in mind, Biden spent the first half of his speech discussing the war in Ukraine. Congress cheered enthusiastically. That was a wise rhetorical choice, not only because the war occupies everyone’s mind, but also because it gave Biden a chance to seek unity. Republicans seem to have abandoned their recent pro-Putin attitudes, and Biden jumped on the chance to bring people together.
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A Unifying Approach
When Biden turned to more controversial issues, he still tried to be unified and welcoming. For example, he spent some time talking about the need for Americans to get vaccinated so we can open the country up, end lockdowns, and resume a more normal life:
“We know how incredibly effective vaccines are. If you are vaccinated and boosted, you have the highest degree of protection. We will never give up on vaccinating more Americans. I know parents with kids under five are eager to see their vaccines authorized for their children. Scientists are working hard to get that done and we’ll be ready with plenty of vaccine if and when they do.”After asking for additional coronavirus funding, Biden pleaded with Congress – and through them, to the American people – not to make the coronavirus a political partition:
“Stop looking at Covid as a partisan dividing line. See it for what it is, a god-awful disease. Let’s stop seeing each other as enemies and start seeing each other for who we are. Fellow Americans.”America needed to hear that plea for unity. I cannot for the life of me imagine why vaccination during a pandemic should have become controversial, but we all know that it’s become a hot-button concern. Many Americans, especially Republicans, refuse to take coronavirus vaccinations. They offer absurd explanations, such as that the vaccine contains a microchip or aborted fetal parts, or that it alters a person’s DNA. Conservative patent medicine salesman Alex Jones called the vaccine a “poison death shot.” Factual refutations seem to have no effect on some people’s opinions.
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Earlier Post: The President and the Bully Pulpit: Biden’s Speech Pushed Infrastructure
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Continuing his theme of unity, Biden also thanked the Republicans who joined with Democrats to pass the infrastructure bill. He could easily have boasted that the bill was a major administration accomplishment. Instead, he reached out to the Republicans.
“I thank my Republican friends who joined to invest and rebuild America. The single biggest investment in history. It was a bipartisan effort, I want to thank the members of both parties who worked to make it happen.”That was unifying. No one forced Biden to say that.
Was Biden's Speech Enough to Unify the Nation?
Will Biden’s mild appeal change people’s hearts? Or will conservatives merely consider it to be a sign of weakness? I suppose that time will tell. Biden did, however, acknowledge the United States of America’s deep, emotional divisions. Giving the divisions a positive spin, he noted that we could not change the past, but could change the future:
“We cannot change how divided we have been; it was a long time coming. We can change how to move forward on Covid-19 and other issues we must face together.” [italics added]Congress’ live response, however, gives me little reason to share Biden’s optimism. The Republicans did not just boo (rather rudely, I think) when he talked about gun control or taxation. If my ears did not deceive me, a few of them booed (while others applauded) when he advocated the extraordinarily-popular proposal to lower prescription drug and insulin prices.
Republican Representative Susan Collins later expressed her appreciation for Biden’s appeal to unity. There, I think she had a valid point. The angriest conservative core voters do not plan to relent and seem closed to compromise. If Biden can chip away at independents or more moderate conservatives, he may have a chance to establish more of his agenda. Will that be enough to heal our divisions? That remains to be seen.
For, I fear, the United States division is not only about race. It is not only about gun control or abortion. We are fundamentally looking at a division between people who care most about bread-and-butter issues – prescription drug prices, fair taxation, and economic development – as opposed to people aroused by emotional culture war issues – like who goes to which bathroom, or whether schools should teach about Civil Rights, Martin Luther King, Jr. and lynching. People are not screaming their lungs out at public meetings to protest prescription drug prices. They are screaming because they want to ban books or force their children to take off their coronavirus masks. That goes far beyond economics, logical pleading, or reason. The United States’ divisions are deep, and Biden made only cursory mention of them. He did not, for example, broach the January 6 Capitol Hill riot.
Politically, Biden was probably wise to stay away from some of the culture war battles. In the long run, however, the United States either needs to face these issues forthrightly, or else collapse into the abyss. Part of me is happy that Biden was careful not to rip open our fresh scars. Part of me knows that something has to be done about the wounds.
Biden expressed optimism. Yet, some members of Congress booed (repeatedly) when he spoke for perfectly ordinary, presumably popular economic issues. That tells us that our country does not face a decision about what policies to adopt, but instead who should be in charge. Wisdom versus power. Reason versus anger. Unity versus division. Unity was Biden’s hope. It is the United States’ hope.
So, Biden gave a well-prepared, serious, and thoughtful speech. Is the United States listening?
Biden expressed optimism. Yet, some members of Congress booed (repeatedly) when he spoke for perfectly ordinary, presumably popular economic issues. That tells us that our country does not face a decision about what policies to adopt, but instead who should be in charge. Wisdom versus power. Reason versus anger. Unity versus division. Unity was Biden’s hope. It is the United States’ hope.
So, Biden gave a well-prepared, serious, and thoughtful speech. Is the United States listening?
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Research Note: For more about the unifying style of persuasion, see my former professor Charles Larson's book.
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