On May 26, 2015, Bernie Sanders, one of the runner ups for presidential candidacy, holds his “kickoff” event in his hometown Burlington,Vermont. On that day, Sanders discusses the overall being of the American people and the economic problem that hovers over the nation today. The problem is the economic inequality among social classes in America, in which is making the middle class of this country disappear and shrink for the last forty years. In his attempt to run for presidential candidacy, Bernie Sanders values the actions of everyday Americans in order to shift the attention towards the economic and social problem in the United States in order to overall benefit the well being of the nation.
At the beginning of the speech, Sanders strives to achieve the support and participation of the audience to establish the building blocks of his presidential campaign by controlling his tone and mood of the audience. When he begins his speech, Sanders repeats “today” and “time” to his audience. Although both words connote a sense of presence and urgency, Sanders also declares in reference to the nation’s economic and social development that there is “no time” to either “[think] small” or have the “same old ideas,” but “the time” for families to unite. When he asks for unity among families, Sanders portrays the economic problem to be more critical and urgent than any other in American history. He must seize the attention of his audience, and address the problem to create pressure for a new economic solution. The pressure provokes people to support Sanders and participate in the fight for ‘economic and social justice.’ As Sanders calls for the working families to come together, he employs patriotism for a sense of national pride that the United States is the leader in “the fight for justice.” The patriotism motivates the audience to vitally participate in the “fight” that makes the United States best known for qualities like “health, prosperity, security and joy” that separate the United States from other nations. All in all, Sanders tries to obtain the support of his audience in order to develop the premise of his campaign with a critical yet urgent tone and a sense of national pride.
In the middle of the speech, Sanders personally sacrifices his campaign to acknowledge the needs, individuality and power of the American people to support him and economic revolution. When Sanders clarifies who the campaign is for, he personally sacrifices his candidacy for “the needs of the American people” and the “ideas and proposals” that address those needs. Sanders’ personal sacrifice causes the American people to actively support Sanders, and encourage economic revolution through the power and value of each American to act against the ideals on economic inequality and wealth. After addressing who the campaign is for, Sanders repeats his “hope” of desperation and willingness to reform American economy. The repetition notifies the audience of Sanders’ interest of supporting the working class, predisposing the people to trust his campaign in restoring American economy and society. Sanders includes repetition in his speech to have larger members of society like the media realize the needs of the American people by acknowledging their decisions and actions. In conclusion Sanders’ sacrificial campaign values the American people’s needs, individuality and power that results in his support and economic reformation.
At the end of the speech, Sanders rallies the audience by sharing his experiences to collaboratively fight alongside him for a nation that benefits the working class. As Sanders shares his background to his audience, he includes a sense of patriotism when he “have seen the promise of America.” The patriotism stirs the audience’s national pride in an effort to restore the economy, motivating the audience to fulfill the ‘promise’ to discourage economic inequality among the different social classes. The previous use of patriotism discusses at an international level while this use of patriotism narrows the discussion to further support economic and social development within the United States. After Sanders finish his background, the anecdote shares a “lesson” that nothing cannot be accomplished if “people stand together and prepare.” The anecdote demonstrates Sanders’ experience with his ‘lesson’ about collaboration and achievement which motivates the American people to collaborate in order to build a future that works for everyone, not only the rich. Sanders includes an anecdote to make himself relatable to his audience; that he also experiences the same ideals about collaboration to gain support due to his experiences. To sum up, Sanders’ anecdotes inspires the audience to collaboratively participate in his campaign to benefit the American people.
In his run for presidential candidacy, Bernie Sanders values the decisions and actions of everyday Americans in order to shift the attention toward the economic and social revolution in the United States. Throughout his speech, Sanders interacts with his audience by valuing, supporting, and working with them in order to gain the support that results in an economic and social reform. Overall Sanders’ technique to gain the support for his presidential candidacy is to hand down collaboration and responsibility to the audience in order to resolve the economic and social problem of wealth inequality.