What is an American really?

The majority of people look at illegal immigration as something bad.  The negativity isn’t just reserved to those who are actually illegal immigrants however.  Some even go so far to generalize all Hispanic people as illegal immigrants, flagrant disrespecters of the law, and all class of criminals.  This discrimination has had its affect on many laws and general practices respecting people of Hispanic descent.  I’ve lived in Mexico and I’ve learned that many of the people there regard western United States as still part of Mexico since it was wrongfully ‘taken’ from them by the U.S. as part of the ‘booty of war’.  All these negative feelings are broiled into one big general dislike of each other’s culture and lawfulness. 

Tradition and Athenian Pride

Greek History

How can you talk about tradition and not think of this... "TRADITION!!!"

                In an attempt to say something new about Greek civilization (as most people have talked about the pride of the Greeks country), I would like to point out the innate sense of tradition among the Greek society. It is clear from the introduction and the start of Pericles Oration that the Greeks had traditions. Many of these traditions could arguably be called “irrational” both then and now. Today we praise the Greeks for their advanced society, ideals, and government for their time in history. Because of this we may now overlook the fact that the Greeks were still human, and still like most people today with many different religious, cultural, and even silly traditions.

Pericles’ Ethos

                Many people talked about the pride of ones country as what they learned about the history of the Greek civilization (Austin Pena did a good job of this in his post “The Cradle of Humanism”)*, but for me this theme of country stood out more as the center of how Pericles built his ethos. Pericles said it the best himself by stating, “I have sung the praises of our city.” The pride of Athens and of their country was something that built common ground between Pericles and his audience. It also made himself appear to be a true Athenian, or Greek. I have felt this ethos while listening to many patriotic speakers in my own life. Once I have the feeling or thought of the speaker being a true American or Patriot, I am more inclined to listen to what they have to say. Pericles used this same method to build his ethos in his oration.

Pericles’ Philosophy

                This was definitely harder for me to pick out, but overall I feel that Pericles mostly resembles the ideals of the sophists. He clearly wants to help his audience believe the points he makes, as well as being quite ambiguous in his stances morally. He brings up some moral issues, but doesn’t necessarily try to persuade his audience to a specific way of thinking about these issues; more he is trying to persuade or induce belief. Because of the relativism in his thoughts to the people in his audience, like the mothers who have lost spouses, I feel there is the most evidence pointing to Pericles being a sophist. 

*http://rhetoricandcivilization.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-cradle-of-humanism.html

The Cradle of Humanism

The Inspiration for the European Renaissance

While reading the funeral oration as delivered by Peracles I couldn't also help but think of the leaders of the American revolution, I imagined them reading similar works and being influenced by them. For, as addressed sufficiently by Macey, James, and Ryan, many ideas mentioned exactly reflect the "American Dream" and the guiding thoughts that created modern democracy. But then my thoughts turned to the European renaissance when society began to adopt greater humanistic ideas; these ideas emerged because people began reading works similar to this oration. The ancient Greeks clearly placed value on the individual working to better him/herself so that they could actively contribute to society. Freedom was emphasized, they took great pride in the fact that they were splitting from the norm. 

Audience and Pathos

I'm always fascinated by how an audience influences one giving a speech and how it changes the rhetorical devices and forms used. I completely agree with what James posted about the kairos of Peracles' speech, and what he briefly mentioned about how Peracles personified Athens. I feel that Peracles knew his audience, and accordingly formed his speech to inspire within them ideals to benefit the community. His speech is replete with humanist ideas that he presents with great pathos in order to inspire the community. 

Moral Absolution 

I felt some form of moral force govern the thoughts Pericles used. He presented the ideals of Athens as morally the most correct of ideals. That being said, I don't feel I agree completely with Ryan and Macey's analysis that he was following the Sophist order of things. I feel that it was a bit more Socratic because it seems to me that he genuinely felt the things he was addressing were a question of morality. I don't think that he was pragmatic, he certainly didn't claim that he didn't have absolute knowledge; on the contrary he spoke with absolution guided by beliefs that seemed to be deeply planted within him. Perhaps in the sense that he used public speaking as a way to get his point across he was in line with the Sophists, but the philosophies behind his ideas felt far more Socratic. 

Patriotism Elevated by Death

History

I love what James said in his post regarding being American. I too couldn’t help but notice the American ideologies expressed in the Funeral Oration of Pericles. “Our system of government does not copy the institutions of our neighbors” (line 27, page 73). “When our work is over, we are in a position to enjoy all kinds of recreation for our spirits” (4, 74). “We, when we launch an attack abroad, do the job by ourselves and, though fighting on foreign soil, do not often fail to defeat opponents who are fighting for their own hearths and homes” (21, 74). “The worst thing is to rush into action before the consequences have been properly debated” (7, 74). Thucydides stated in the beginning that “similar events would occur in the future if the same causes are present” (71). It seems obvious to me that the same can be said of patriotism if I can read a speech intended for ancient greeks and think of my present day country.  

Rhetoric

Through recognizing the historical similarities between ancient Greece and present day America (specifically in regards to ideology) I feel it necessary to comment on the magnificent persuasive power of patriotism. The fact that Pericles purposefully begun his speech by appealing to patriotism, that pride of country carried me to the end of the speech. In the middle of his speech, he made questionable statements such as: having more children makes up for the death of one or that the “greatest glory of a woman is to be least talked about by men” (8, 78). (Macey R. has a different interpretation of this quote that is quite interesting.)Though I personally did not agree with those statements, because he successfully utilized rhetoric to convince me to be a team player and embrace the community ideals, I was able to disregard such comments that went against my personal beliefs.

Philosophy

In consideration of the philosophy presented in this speech, I completely agree with Macey R. Not only did Pericles use his speech praising dead men to elevate Athens, he used such a speech to also elevate himself. We learn from the text that Pericles stands on a high platform. Not only is this a means of projection, but I also believe this is a sophist action alluding to their belief of being more knowledgeable than everyone else and thus superior. Furthermore, some of the language was so loaded that it distracted from the men being honored and guided the audience’s attention to the man speaking. This type of performance truly is character of a sophist.