Politicians in the United States have a lot of power and responsibility. Not just in the government, but in society also. When there is a crisis in the country, people turn to the government leaders for action as well as emotional comfort. The people want the leaders to let them know that everything will be okay. That is why these leaders can be so helpful for citizens. This security for humans is huge. Two very impactful speeches by politicians during emergency situations are Robert F. Kennedy after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, and George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks. RFK and George W. Bush had similar issues to address, and used tone/emotion, the time period of each speech, and applied different texts to give great speeches given their specific tragedy and helped to heal a wounded America. 

As society changes and evolves over time, so does the situations and threats of a nation. In the 1960s, civil rights were a hot and quite controversial issue that the government had to handle quickly. In the 21st century for America, terrorism has essentially come to be the most important issue for the government, especially after the 9/11 and Paris attacks. Both RFK and George W. Bush have had, in their respective time periods, huge issues that they have had to deal with immediately. Also, both of these cases have involved racial tensions. In the 1960s, it was the relationship between African-Americans and Caucasians that was strained to say the least. Today, it is Americans and Middle Easterners that have developed anger against each other. And right now, neither relationship has been healed. The times might be different, but these societal emergencies are almost identical to each other. However, one difference between the two is that in the RFK speech, it involved a domestic issue inside America. George W. Bush had an international problem that has become a global challenge today. With this external issue, George W. Bush had to be very careful in his speech because his words would be heard by not just America, but worldwide. Therefore, he needed to be cautious because if he said anything wrong or offensive to anyone, it could affect the diplomatic status of countries around the world. The only other difference in the speeches is that George W. Bush was the president at the time, while RFK was only a presidential candidate. As a candidate, RFK needed to be careful in his speech to not offend a group of Americans because he needed votes from the people later on for the election. The last thing a presidential candidate wants is a part of the population against them, as this could mean they lose precious votes. It is clear that these respective tragedies were quite similar, and even the differences resulted in politicians that must be careful as to what they say. While the issues were alike, so were the aspects of the speeches. 

When analyzing a speaker, an important part to look at is their tone. Tone sets the mood for the speech, and various tones will alter how people feel while hearing it. Robert F. Kennedy was quite emotional in his speech, and had an imploring tone in his voice as he talked. He asks for love and compassion and understanding with one another, but from the tone it almost sounds like he is begging the audience to listen to him. As a listener, this tone will captivate you because of how passionate he is on the subject. His pleading voice really makes an audience hone in to what he is saying, and it makes the listener want to do what RFK says. Considering the situation given, this tone is key to make the speech successful for RFK. He does not want any more violence, and knows that some African-Americans will want to retaliate after the murder of MLK. Therefore, it is a must for RFK to speak and use this imploring tone to get the audience to listen to him for peace and understanding. On the contrary, George W. Bush is very calm in his speech, and has very little tone in his voice. This tells the audience that he believes in what he is saying and very serious about it. This is perfect for the speech under the given circumstances. The 9/11 attacks were unprecedented for the United States, and a lot of Americans were scared after this event occurred. Bush knew this and understood that terrorism was now a very serious problem, and should be treated as such. This tone is also used to help calm the public, and let them know that everything will be okay. Citizens took comfort in the unperturbed voice of the president, and felt better after listening to him speak. This is not the only thing RFK and George W. Bush do brilliantly in their speeches.

As established earlier, society changes and evolves over time. The 1960s are very different to today's modern standard, especially in the media. Information and news took much longer to reach the country 50 years ago than right now. However, both presidents delivered speeches that reached the people as quickly as possible given the time period. This was vital to relieve the people of America at the given crisis. Robert F. Kennedy was on a presidential campaign trip when MLK was murdered, and was informed of the news just before he was going to meet the crowd in Indianapolis. It was suggested that RFK cancel the speech that night, but he knew better. Instead, he decided to address this issue immediately to an outlet that would broadcast it to the citizens of the nation. Hence, RFK had his on-the-fly speech in Indianapolis shot live by a cameraman, and before too long was shown on TV by national media outlets across the country. He realized that this national tragedy had to be lectured on that night, otherwise more violence and riots would ravage the country. As a political leader, RFK understood his leadership role and responsibility to get on top of the situation to help heal the nation. It takes a true man to embrace this huge task to help the population, and he should be commended for it. Similarly, George W. Bush did this also the night of 9/11. Bush did not speak about the 9/11 attacks as quickly as RFK did on the assassination of MLK, but that is because not much was known about the tragedy at first. It took some time to figure out that this was an unprecedented terrorism strike, and Bush had to evacuate the White House for the day. Once it was safe and the facts were uncovered, he addressed the nation as fast as he could. With the bigger presence of media and better technology than 50 years ago, Bush was able to talk to all of America during his speech. Just like Robert F. Kennedy, he knew speaking was required for his leadership role and took the challenge head on. Not everyone can do this, but both handled their jobs with unbelievable class and dignity. Even the content of both speeches were very alike. 

While speaking to an audience, it is important to use other sources to help enhance the speakers' speech. Both Robert F. Kennedy and George W. Bush use outside texts and call for God's help. RFK quotes the Greek philosopher Aeschylus, saying that with pain comes wisdom from God himself. This quote coincides with what RFK was talking about when he said that society needs understanding and love, not hatred and anger. The audience responds better to outside sources besides just the speaker, so for RFK to mention this quote while giving an impromptu speech shows how intelligent he is and how well he can influence an audience. George W. Bush mentions a verse from the Bible that says "I fear no evil, for You are with me." Bush is telling the United States to not be afraid from the 9/11 attacks, and that life will move forward from this event. He knows that the American people are looking for answers to this tragedy, and he does just that. He also mentions that not only are military personnel helping domestically, but internationally the search for the people responsible for the assault has already begun. It takes a great president to understand what the citizens want and act accordingly. For Bush to do this so quickly shows his willingness to answer to events for the good of the nation and to help the people. Both Robert F. Kennedy and George W. Bush show amazing abilities as political leaders to give speeches that influence the American people and better the nation.     

Overall, these politicians did an outstanding job of speaking and handling their respective emergencies for America. Without them speaking, both situations could have gone from bad to worse. The night of the MLK assassination, there were riots across the country. One city that did not participate in this was Indianapolis. Robert F. Kennedy has been given a lot of credit for this, as his speech in Indy helped to calm the people at the time. George W. Bush had this similar effect, as America greatly benefited from his speech and helped the people move on from the horrendous tragedy. Leaders are meant to help people during times of need, and a politician's speech like Robert F. Kennedy and George W. Bush can do just that. 

