Political Propaganda Essay, Research Paper

The Deception of Political Propaganda

Have you ever heard a political speech? Did you find you self in favor of the speakers idea after his speech sometimes even if you weren?t before. Politicians use political language to make us have a certain felling about something. In the following essay I will evaluate some of the political language used by Nixon in his famous “Checkers” speech.

Nixon starts his speech off by using glittering generalities. He states that he never abtained money from anyone and that every dime he used in his election was honestly his. Glittering generalities is a type of political propaganda that appeals to our emotions by using words like truth, freedom, honor, liberty, loyalty, and the American way. Through this type of propaganda most people of good will think Nixon is honestly a good person.

The next type of propaganda Nixon uses is the plain folks device. The Plain Folks Device attempts to win our confidence by appearing to be just like any other normal citizen. Nixon attempts this by the following quote about his wife “Pat doesn’t have a mink coat, but she does have a respectable Republican cloth coat.”

Then Nixon tells us a testimonial that depicts him as a common American citizen. He tells us that after the election a man had heard Nixon would like to have a dog for his two children. One day Nixon went to the post office to pick up a package and it was a dog. His six year old daughter named it ?Checkers?. Then he stays his children love it and no matter what he isn?t goon to give it up. Nixon uses this testimonial to depict him as a good American citizen.

Finally, Nixon uses the name calling device to give us an impression of his fouls. Nixon uses this device to try to bestow an expression that his foul is only for the rich people. He does this by telling his audience a statement made which said that if a man couldn?t afford to be in the senate, then that man shouldn?t run for the Senate. Nixon then says how he does not believe this is true and even uses religion in the following quote ?God must have loved the common people, he made so many of them?. Nixon doesn?t stop there with his name calling. He then accuses his opponents of rumors of them stealing money from the state.

In conclusion, I think that political propaganda is a very common part of politics and that it will continue to be used in the future. And for that reason, we should learn to recognize political propaganda and try to see past the wall of deception. Once past this wall, we will be able to discover who someone really is within.