Collective Memory

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Introduction

Memory is classically thought of as the rhetorical canon that allows a rhetor to speak at length without consulting notes. However, the modern definition has a bit more to it. Memory in modern rhetoric is linked to historical, social, and cultural memories, and it requires a few key things of its participants. First, they must have an understanding of language, social codes, and symbols (Blair 53). Second, they must share a background of knowledge (Blair 54); this could be as simple as a couple fighting, and both participants know and understand what it is they are fighting about. Third, an audience must have the ability to remember and accumulate the arguments stated during a speech (Blair 54). Lastly, the audience must have a cultural understanding of stereotypes of groups; for example, the idea of honor and valor being attached to people who serve in the military (Blair 55). If these requirements are all accounted for, a rhetor can successfully call on his audience’s collective memory. Sentence ^[1]

Artifact Analysis

President George W. Bush’s speech was given in response to the September 11th, 2001 attack on the Twin Towers.

Excerpt from his speech: On September the 11th, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country. Americans have known wars -- but for the past 136 years, they have been wars on foreign soil, except for one Sunday in 1941. Americans have known the casualties of war -- but not at the center of a great city on a peaceful morning. Americans have known surprise attacks -- but never before on thousands of civilians. All of this was brought upon us in a single day -- and night fell on a different world, a world where freedom itself is under attack.

President George W. Bush’s speech on September 20, 2001, is a prime example of a speaker utilizing his or her audience’s collective memory in order to communicate a persuasive message. One of President Bush’s intended audiences was the men and women of the United States, and he calls on their collective memory of September 11, 2001, to instill in them feelings of unity and togetherness. To “call on their collective memory” means to reference images, phrases, and ideas associated with an event that every member of the audience experienced.

For example, President Bush says, “We have seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers.” These are images of the aftermath of the attack, which serve to both remind every American of the emotions it aroused—namely sadness, compassion, and patriotism—and to unite the country through a shared experience. Other images that he encourages his audience to remember are the “bringing down of buildings,” the “damaged Pentagon,” and the “Republicans and Democrats joined together on the steps of this Capitol, singing "God Bless America."” Again, he asks his audience to remember what the attack looked like—the Twin Towers catching fire and smoke rising from the Pentagon—and to remember the way all Americans, despite their differing views, came together as a result.

Lastly, President Bush says, “Each of us will remember what happened that day, and to whom it happened. We'll remember the moment the news came -- where we were and what we were doing. Some will remember an image of a fire, or a story of rescue. Some will carry memories of a face and a voice gone forever.” Here, he is emphasizing just how resonant this event will be, and that, although American’s memories of it may be slightly different, it has in some way affected every citizen of the United States.

The President’s use of collective memory serves a purpose: calling on painful memories will make his audience more willing to support his plan for dealing with the crisis. Ultimately, he is asking the audience for their patience, “with the delays and inconveniences that may accompany tighter security; and for your patience in what will be a long struggle.” Reliving these memories forces Americans to feel intense emotions like fear, anger, and a desire for justice. This pathetic appeal, combined with the notion that all Americans are experiencing these emotions, can help assure his audience that they are not in this alone, and therefore allow them to feel more comfortable supporting a long and difficult war. As this speech illustrates, collective memory can function as a pathetic appeal, uniting a group of people over a shared memory and allowing them to feel comfortable accepting a rhetor’s proposition as a part of a larger, tightly knit community.