What Is The Precis Of President Kennedy's Ethos Pathos Logos

In the quotation, President Kennedy utilizes logos or logic to craft a poignant rebuttal against the argument which downplayed the significance of going to the moon. In essence, the President’s argument is that if going to the moon is unimportant, unnecessary, or improvident, then all other great American accomplishments are, in themselves, also wastes of “time and tears”. For instance, Kennedy asserts that by the logic of “wasteful accomplishments”, previous achievements, like, flying over the Atlantic, at the time, “35 years ago”, were also ludicrous American feats without magnitude. Ultimately, this “if, then logic” is a clear utilization of Logos, as it reasons in a concise way through concrete evidence. Moreover, the evidence of history, e.g., great American accomplishments, is used to

Pleading to American conscience, or ethics, the president argues that if the United States is the conqueror of space, it will be “a sea of peace”, whereas if space is conquered by the Soviet Union its destiny lies in becoming “a new terrifying theater of war.” Essentially and historically, this speech is a response to the “Space Race” of the Cold War, and eminently outlines the two roles of these warring countries during this time of American history: the roles of hero and villain. Evidently, Kennedy depicts the U.S. as the, good, heroic nation bound to the “ethics codes” of the Constitution, whereas the Soviet Union is portrayed as a lawless nation, the villain; an unprincipled nation without allegiance to moral or ethical code. Moreover, this point is evinced concisely in the President’s astute choice of words, proclaiming that the fate of space conquest for “good or ill”, is delineated by the choice of the United States to occupy “a position of pre-eminence.” Clearly, an ethical appeal, or ethos, is made in this