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Biden opened his speech with something that sounds like generic political speaking, so much that it's almost invisible in defying the listener to pay attention to it:
Instead, I'd like to consider what the language is saying.
"Here and now": a sort of empty rhetorical phrase to increase the listener's attention, and make the message sound more important, without saying anything. "Waitress, I'd like to order a cheeseburger." "Waitress, here and now, I'd like to order a cheeseburger". Sounds more historic.
"I give you my word". This is image building, making the politician sound like a thoughtful, principled, person you can count on, who thinks that "word" is a critically important thing with the trust it's built on. It can be thrown around a lot. "I'll bring milk on the way home." "I give you my word, I'll bring milk on the way home." 'Giving his word' is implicit in the fact he's giving a speech. But it makes it sound like he really cares. You can TRUST him.
"If you entrust me with the presidency" - pretty generic candidate phrase, painting the picture that boy oh boy does he know HE works for YOU, he humbly recognizes that he is being honored with your trust and will do his darndest to respect that. Sounds a lot better than "I'm about to be the most powerful person in the world! Politically of course, we all know money really rules."
Leaders have used false modesty as long as their have been rulers, I suspect, at LEAST as far back as the Roman emperors.
"I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. "
Think about just how empty that phrase is. What does it even mean, he will 'draw on' the public?
It's an empty, yet rhetorically effective, phrase that is really just gushing, 'you know the things you don't like people do? I'm against that. And you know the things you like that people do? I'm for that. So take the emotions you feel of hate, disgust, disappointment about some ways people act, and the good feelings you get from others, and let me get your vote by claiming the feelings for myself."
And if that was too specific, not vapid enough, he goes full vapid with the language of "I will be an ally of the light, not of the darkness." It doesn't get much more generic political talk than that. It's Star Wars caliber. It basically means nothing, but again, tries to borrow on the account of people not liking dark so much, and liking light better.
"It's time for us"
More of the "Here and now" type flourish.
"for We the People"
You know those feelings or patriotism and awe you feel about the founding phrase "We, the people"? Let me borrow on that, too. "We the people" = Joe Biden, "We the people" = Joe Biden, ya, he's like the founding fathers, if you like "We the people" and the founding of the country, you like Joe Biden.
"to come together."
It's like a vapid phrase reunion. Even the Beatles knew the appeal of the phrase "come together", which was, in fact, a song for written to be the theme song for a presidential political campaign (of Timothy Leary). Again, it appeals to people's vague good feelings about the people of the country 'coming together'. For something.
At least while it's usually used for no particular reason but the general appeal, this time it fits the messaging about running against the great divider.
1/2
"Here and now, I give you my word: If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I will be an ally of the light, not of the darkness. It's time for us, for We the People, to come together."
Instead, I'd like to consider what the language is saying.
"Here and now": a sort of empty rhetorical phrase to increase the listener's attention, and make the message sound more important, without saying anything. "Waitress, I'd like to order a cheeseburger." "Waitress, here and now, I'd like to order a cheeseburger". Sounds more historic.
"I give you my word". This is image building, making the politician sound like a thoughtful, principled, person you can count on, who thinks that "word" is a critically important thing with the trust it's built on. It can be thrown around a lot. "I'll bring milk on the way home." "I give you my word, I'll bring milk on the way home." 'Giving his word' is implicit in the fact he's giving a speech. But it makes it sound like he really cares. You can TRUST him.
"If you entrust me with the presidency" - pretty generic candidate phrase, painting the picture that boy oh boy does he know HE works for YOU, he humbly recognizes that he is being honored with your trust and will do his darndest to respect that. Sounds a lot better than "I'm about to be the most powerful person in the world! Politically of course, we all know money really rules."
Leaders have used false modesty as long as their have been rulers, I suspect, at LEAST as far back as the Roman emperors.
"I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. "
Think about just how empty that phrase is. What does it even mean, he will 'draw on' the public?
It's an empty, yet rhetorically effective, phrase that is really just gushing, 'you know the things you don't like people do? I'm against that. And you know the things you like that people do? I'm for that. So take the emotions you feel of hate, disgust, disappointment about some ways people act, and the good feelings you get from others, and let me get your vote by claiming the feelings for myself."
And if that was too specific, not vapid enough, he goes full vapid with the language of "I will be an ally of the light, not of the darkness." It doesn't get much more generic political talk than that. It's Star Wars caliber. It basically means nothing, but again, tries to borrow on the account of people not liking dark so much, and liking light better.
"It's time for us"
More of the "Here and now" type flourish.
"for We the People"
You know those feelings or patriotism and awe you feel about the founding phrase "We, the people"? Let me borrow on that, too. "We the people" = Joe Biden, "We the people" = Joe Biden, ya, he's like the founding fathers, if you like "We the people" and the founding of the country, you like Joe Biden.
"to come together."
It's like a vapid phrase reunion. Even the Beatles knew the appeal of the phrase "come together", which was, in fact, a song for written to be the theme song for a presidential political campaign (of Timothy Leary). Again, it appeals to people's vague good feelings about the people of the country 'coming together'. For something.
At least while it's usually used for no particular reason but the general appeal, this time it fits the messaging about running against the great divider.
1/2