On September 11th, 2001, two American planes were high-jacked by Al Qaeda terrorists and flown into the World Trade Center towers. Simultaneously, two other high-jacked planes were crashed into the Pentagon and a farming field. The resulting damage and rescue attempts claimed more than 2,996 lives. In the wake of this disaster, America raised countless questions as it lived in fear, mourning, and anger. At this time, the American people looked for answers through their leader at the time, President George W. Bush. It was up to President Bush to qualm many fears and instill a sense of community in the American people. Emotions were running high and because of this, it was vital that the President choose each word with clear intent. By purposefully using the emotions of a country who had just witnessed tragic acts of cruelty first hand, President Bush was able to communicate a political stance through devices such as repetition, motivating imagery, and his tone to unite a nation in a time of devastation. 

President George W. Bush employed effective repetition in his address to place emphasis on certain points as well as enforce his main ideas and motives clearly. The first example of this comes in the form of the word “America,” which is said a total of eleven times within the short speech. This repetition kept the audience focused on the concept that the attack on the Twin Towers affected not just New York City, but the entire country as well. Through this, President Bush was able to communicate that the nation was joined together in a time of destruction, which allowed the emotional American population to join together in unity and feel a greater sense of community. As a lead figure in America, it was vital for President Bush to join together with the American people in their suffering. He did this by repeatedly using the first-person terms ‘we’ or ‘our’, as shown when he started his speech with, “Fellow Americans,” (Bush, George W). This not only allowed the people to connect to his message, but also gave the perspective to the audience that President Bush was an American citizen, and therefore a victim, as well as every other American on that dreadful day. The use of these repetitions reinforced the idea that in a scene of loss and brokenness, the American people were unified by common citizenship and tragedy. Through all of this, Americans could find comfort in each other. 

In what is commonly considered the greatest tragedy of the twenty-first century, the people of the United States experienced barbaric injustice in the first person. This created intense imagery that was depicted by President Bush in his address to motivate the American people to action in their fragile emotional state. One line from his address recreated the image of the disaster as he described, “the pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger,” (Bush). He did this to show the American people the realistic horror that occurred and through his candid illustration, prove to the people that the entire address would share the same honesty. This was necessary for America to hear in their time of desperation. Many were lost, and many were angry- this was why it was essential that President Bush be genuine and call the people to action. He once again used imagery to draw on the audience’s emotions when he said, “The victims were in airplanes or in their offices- secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers. Moms and dads. Friends and neighbors,” (Bush). This reiterated the idea that the attacks affected all of America, and that each citizen of the country was united as they mourned in unity. 

In order to communicate his message and personal stance on the 9/11 attacks, President Bush set a tone in his speech that indicated his call for action and involved empathy. He was clear and concise with his message so that all of his audience was aware of his focus. The first indication of his focused tone came when he began with, “Last week our very freedom came under attack,” (Bush). By stating this so boldly, he identified the problem with no flourish or attempt to deliver his message delicately. The American people did not want to hear rambling or discussion irrelevant to their real issue. This is why President Bush was so effective in his succinct tone. The people wanted to take action, and President Bush clearly promised this when he declared, “Whether we bring our enemies to justice, or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done,” (Bush). Not only did this fulfill the desire American call to action, but it also motivated the Americans to help as President Bush once again utilized the use of ‘our’ to display the universal involvement of the population. He made it clear that the attackers would not go unpunished and that America was not weak. He defined a common motive when he later concluded, “Our grief has turned to anger, and anger to resolution,” (Bush). In the days following the attacks, many Americans had time to fester their mourning into resolve for justice. President Bush experienced this same process that lead him to share his passion with his fellow Americans. 

In a time of high running emotions after a devastating loss to America, George W. Bush utilized devices such as repetition, graphic imagery, and a focused tone to clearly illustrate his political and personal stance on his plan for justice to the American people. He used repetition to place emphasis on the universal impact the 9/11 attacks had on the country in order to join the nation together in a time of need. Bush spoke with striking imagery to convey the true audacity of the attacks so as to convey the severity of the matter. He remained focused and concise to ensure that his message was clear for all Americans to hear. This speech is often considered the speech that defined the entirety of the Bush Presidency. It provided comfort and resolution to a lost population, who, when they demanded answers, were given much more. 
