Ideograph

From DigitalRhetoricCollaborative

Revision as of 22:20, 27 April 2015

An ideograph is a word or phrase with a vague definition which represents an ambiguous set of ideas. This causes ideographs to be able to be used without sending a particular message because people can be affected in several ways by the way the ideograph is used or by their own interpretation of it. Ideographs can be very useful for rhetoricians because of their ambiguity. Not only can they be used as substitutes for complex ideas, but they tend to have several different connotations attached to them, so they have the potential to increase the effectiveness of a rhetorician's pathos. The term was first used by Michael Calvin McGee in 1980 to describe certain words used in political discourse.^[1] While they are not limited to politics, some of the more commonly used ideographs are frequently used in political discourse. Terms such as 'liberty', 'freedom', and 'equality' all refer to an ideology, but to no specific referent. This allows ideographs to persuade without necessarily having a significant purpose or meaning.

Introduction

One of the most easily recognizable ideographs in the 21st century is 'terrorism'. Terrorism is defined as “the use of violent acts to frighten the people in an area as a way of trying to achieve a political goal,”^[3] but the word tends to invoke a strong sense of fear among audiences. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, President George Bush, and later President Barack Obama, frequently used this term to invoke in citizens the same sense of fear that was felt during the attacks. Specifically, you can see them do this in President Bush's speech in response to 9/11^[4]and in President Obama's remarks on National Security.^[5] The two Presidents create an interesting pair of ideas when using terrorism as an ideograph because, while they both use it in order to provoke audiences, they have to use different techniques to provoke audiences since the goals they hope to achieve by using the ideograph 'terrorism' differ so greatly.

Artifact Analysis

Terrorism qualifies as an ideograph because it doesn't refer to any one specific subject, just terrorists in general. Terrorism is a particularly important ideograph because of the especially strong emotion it evokes in audiences. While liberty, freedom, and equality all have fairly positive connotations and invoke a sense of nationalism, terrorism has a significantly negative connotation. It reminds people of the fear they felt on 9/11 to promote a more powerful sense of national pride among audiences than liberty, freedom, or equality. It is because of these traits that politicians often use the word to their advantage. However, depending on a politician's agenda, the purposes 'terrorism' is used to unite audiences for aren't always the same, even though similar tactics may be used.

George W Bush's 'War on Terror'

To start, Bush, who used the ideograph in the years immediately following 2001, focused on aggressing against terrorists because the memory of 9/11 was fresher in audiences' minds. Bush called for a 'War on Terror' to sound more threatening and vengeful. He wanted to convince audiences that it was the moral obligation of the United States to stop terrorists as to prevent other nations from suffering a similar national tragedy. He also attacks terrorists by saying, “We will direct every resource at our command--every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence, and every necessary weapon of war--to the destruction and to the defeat of the global terror network.”^[6] Bush says he is going to use every available resource to take out terrorists in order to sound powerful and serious.

Bush used his aggressive take on the ideograph 'terrorism' with the 'War on Terror' to invoke audiences with a senses of national pride and of sorrow. To invoke nationalism in this speech, Bush says “They hate what we see right here in this chamber - a democratically elected government.”^[7] This makes people feel prideful for living in a democratic country and angry at those who attacked on 9/11 because they are envious of what America stands for. He also uses 'terrorism' to upset his audiences by reminding them that America is not the only country hurt by terrorists. He says, “Nor will we forget the citizens of 80 other nations who died with our own: dozens of Pakistanis; more than 130 Israelis; more than 250 citizens of India...”^[8] He lists several nations which suffered because of terrorism and suggests that America should take a stand and do something about it. Bush's determination to eliminate those responsible for 9/11 was infectious and convinced audiences to get on the offensive against terrorists.

Barack Obama's Push for Protection

Obama began his presidency over seven years after 9/11, and despite that, he used 'terrorism' in very similar ways to how Bush did, while still using it to achieve a different goal. Obama's main plan was to end Bush's War on Terror, so that meant he wouldn't try to play on peoples' fear and provoke aggression. Instead of attacking terrorists with 'terrorism', Obama defends American 'rule of law' (Also an ideograph: rule of law refers to an idea, not a specific subject.)^[9] against foreign attackers who want to affect it. He says, “I will never abandon -- and will vigorously defend -- the necessity of classification to defend our troops at war, to protect sources and methods, and to safeguard confidential actions that keep the American people safe. ”^[10] Obama says here that he will keep documents which could damage the world's image of America confidential to protect his country. He unites audiences by telling them that if terrorists are further provoked, terrorists will make American soldiers and other citizens unsafe. He wants people to be concerned with maintaining their current status and not with getting revenge.

However, Obama also applied pathos to his goal of ending the War on Terror in similar ways to how Bush promoted the War on Terror. Like Bush, Obama promotes national pride in his address when he says “Fidelity to our values is the reason why the United States of America grew from a small string of colonies under the writ of an empire to the strongest nation in the world.”^[11] Obama says this to make America sound strong and proud, but it's to explain why we must maintain our current state of affairs. He also uses depression to promote his cause by upsetting his audience and suggesting they stop fighting and start defending when he says, “I banned the use of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques by the United States of America.”^[12] This sounds particularly negative because of the connotations brought about by “enhanced interrogation”^[13] so audiences become upset and saddened, but it makes them want to make America look less mean-spirited, not less feeble.

Closing Words

So while the two presidents use the ideograph 'terrorism' to unite the country from terrorists, they unite audiences in different ways. While Bush united people to be aggressive and made them want to attack a group of dangerous people, Obama united people to be defensive and made them want to be morally upstanding. Even though both presidents unite audiences with the ideograph 'terrorism' against the same group of people, they still differ because their agendas called for different responses to terrorists.

Additional Resources

- Foss, Sonja. "Ideological Criticism." Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration and Practice (4th ed.). Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, 2009. 209-220.

- Long, Kelly. "'Terrorism' in the Age of Obama: The Rhetorical Evolution of President Obama’s Discourse on the 'War on Terror'." Undergraduate Review 9 (2013). 87-93.

- McGee, Michael Calvin. "The 'ideograph': A link between rhetoric and ideology." Quarterly Journal of Speech 66:1 (1980). 1-16.

References

1. ↑ McGee, Michael Calvin. "The 'ideograph': A link between rhetoric and ideology." Quarterly Journal of Speech 66:1 (1980). 1-16.
2. ↑ http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/iVWq26iWCLa/Bush+Hosts+Obama+Former+Presidents+White+House/AIYYLtxH7HC/George+W+Bush
3. ↑ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terrorism
4. ↑ Bush, George W. "President Bush Addresses the Nation." washingtonpost. The Washington Post Company, 20 September, 2001. Web. 16 April, 2015 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/specials/attacked/transcripts/bushaddress_092001.html
5. ↑ Obama, Barack H. "Remarks by the President on National Security." whitehouse Office of the Press, 21 May, 2009. Web. 16 April, 2015. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-On-National-Security-5-21-09/
6. ↑ Bush, George W. "President Bush Addresses the Nation." washingtonpost. The Washington Post Company, 20 September, 2001. Web. 16 April, 2015 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/specials/attacked/transcripts/bushaddress_092001.html
7. ↑ Bush, George W. "President Bush Addresses the Nation." washingtonpost. The Washington Post Company, 20 September, 2001. Web. 16 April, 2015 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/specials/attacked/transcripts/bushaddress_092001.html
8. ↑ Bush, George W. "President Bush Addresses the Nation." washingtonpost. The Washington Post Company, 20 September, 2001. Web. 16 April, 2015 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/specials/attacked/transcripts/bushaddress_092001.html
9. ↑ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rule%20of%20law[[1]]
10. ↑ Obama, Barack H. "Remarks by the President on National Security." whitehouse Office of the Press, 21 May, 2009. Web. 16 April, 2015. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-On-National-Security-5-21-09/
11. ↑ Obama, Barack H. "Remarks by the President on National Security." whitehouse Office of the Press, 21 May, 2009. Web. 16 April, 2015. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-On-National-Security-5-21-09/
12. ↑ Obama, Barack H. "Remarks by the President on National Security." whitehouse Office of the Press, 21 May, 2009. Web. 16 April, 2015. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-On-National-Security-5-21-09/
13. ↑ Tran, Mark. "Q&A: Torture and 'enhanced interrogation'." guardian 18, April 2008. Web. 27 April, 2015. [2]