Essay: An Argument for Peace

Ryan Espinoza
Rhetorical Analysis
Prof. Erdem
Eng 102
2/9/10

President Obama: An Argument for Peace

Since ancient history man has pondered how one can gain peace from war, hope from distress, and understanding from contempt.  The President of the United States, Barack Obama, is a man who pleads for the same.  On June 2009, the President gave a speech at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt.  Obama uses Cairo and its audience of young college graduates to spread his ideals of peace, understanding, and common ground.  There have been conflict, fear, and mistrust between the Muslim world and the Western world (in particular the United States).  Obama focuses on this factor to enhance his argument.  Obama’s speech is an effective argument to persuade the Muslim World to help with the United States’ efforts to stop the spread of terrorism, war, and misunderstanding in the world through common ground, relating to his audience, and pleas for trust and cooperation.

The world is in distress with overwhelming war, oppression, and inequalities.  Egypt is a North Africa country whose population is mostly of the Muslim faith.  Throughout the last

President Obama: An Argument For Peace

decade the United States had been at war with the Taliban and Al Qaeda, two extremist terrorist groups.  These groups are a minority of the Muslim faith but a common misconception is that they represent the entire religion as a whole.  The President of the United States is attempting to persuade the Muslims at Cairo University and the world as a whole to join him and the United States for their quest for peace and understanding in hopes of finally ending hatred and war between the terrorists and the world for good.

            President Obama creates a feeling unity and “common ground” in order to build a bridge between the United States and the Muslim world.  This is an extremely important and evident point in Obama’s argument.  “There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another, and to seek common ground.” (Paragraph 6)  Obama specifically states the need for common ground in order to not only succeed in his efforts but also make his arguments much more effective by relating to his target audience.  The audience is a major factor in determining whether or not an argument is successful.  Obama is more than aware of this idea and throughout his speech constantly comes back to the idea of “common ground.”