Below is a video of American presidents’ use of pathological, psychiatric-based rhetoric when dealing with national crises. It’s spooky, so prepare yourself.
This circles back to those concepts on the other page, and the types of therapy rhetoric we see in politics. First and foremost, this video shows the power of comforting citizens. Second, this video reframes political sufferings as emotional sufferings.
All of these presidents were addressing the nation about a pertinent issue. 9/11. The Challenger disaster. Gun violence. How many of those issues were resolved? How many of us grew up with boomer parents spouting off about how easy it is to make it, when our generation was left screwed over by these guys?
I feel your pain. Things like this happen. A strong nation; a president who shares your dreams. Grief. Trauma. Mourning.
There's coping rhetoric. Validating rhetoric. Emotionally 'authentic' rhetoric. Healing rhetoric. Rhetoric that frames conflict as communication breakdowns.
Presidents say these words, but they’re empty when issues don’t get resolutions. The emotional language comforts. It victimizes citizens. It makes political issues emotional in the wrong ways. All in all, it doesn’t tackle the issues head on or provide steady solutions.
The video ends with Obama during a rare honest moment when prompted by an interviewer about what he would have done differently during his presidency. Obama talks about that comforting language. He addresses that maybe those reassuring words were just that— reassuring.