Kenneth Burke describes rhetoric as a tool that helps individuals navigate through life. Rhetoric gives a certain solution to a problem and cause people to take action or evoke emotions (Foss, 2002). This is a tool that is desperately needed in the natural gas debate. The situation is very confusing with industry, government, and the public all making different claims. We have heard that hydraulic fracturing can set water on fire and that there is enough natural gas to power our country for the next hundred years. Who should we believe and what should be done?
Let’s take this tool rhetoric and apply it to a recent talk on energy issues that included natural gas to get some answers to those questions. This will focus on energy policy which is a large part of the natural gas debate. President Obama gave a speech on March 30, 2011 on the topic of energy policy.
The full text can be found here: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/obamas-new-plan-for-old-goal-cutting-oil-imports/. Or watch the speech:
Applying Burke’s pentadatic analysis to this talk will immediately assist in identifying key parts of the message. Burke defined the important elements to be scene, act, agent, agency, and purpose (Foss, 2002). These answer the basic questions of where, what, who, how, and why. The scene is the setting described by the rhetor in the speech (Foss, 2002). President Obama begins his talk by having the audience recall the disasters and turmoil that have occurred around the globe in the past months (Revkin, 2011). He is stating that we are in a time of uncertainty and hardship. With the audience in the right frame of mind, Obama then goes on to describe his reason for giving the speech which is to act. The act is answering the question of “What will be/was done?” For Obama, it is the goal of cutting oil consumption by one-third in “a little more than a decade” (Revkin, 2011). How will this be accomplished? By the agency, the action taken and the instruments used to perform the act (Foss, 2002). This is where natural gas enters the speech. It is one of several sources of energy that Obama highlights. The agent is who will accomplish the goal. Obama is speaking to all Americans but he specifically mentions the Congress and students in the audience. Finally, the purpose of the speech must be understood. The President outlines a few reasons that the oil consumption must be reduced by one-third. One of the first is that oil prices are climbing and the hardworking Americans cannot afford to put fuel into their cars. Another reason is that reducing the oil will reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. Also alternate energy will create new jobs in the United States. All of these will make America the top nation in the years to come. The five elements from Burke clarify the motive for President Obama giving the speech. It is much easier to understand why a crime occurred if the criminal’s motive is found and the same thing applies here. Analyzing the speech with the pentad, clarifies the role of natural gas in the United States’ energy policy. The ratio of act-agency demonstrates the reason natural gas is needed to reach the goal that President Obama set. Burke would define the act in this situation has the controlling term (Foss, 2002). The act demands that oil consumption be reduced. Something then is needed to take its place. One of those is natural gas. Its role may be that of a bridge fuel but it plays an important role in the plan. This information will hopefully sway a hesitant individual to examine the positive side of natural gas more closely.
Predictions of natural gas production from the Energy Information Agency.
President Obama’s speech also demonstrates the form of rhetoric. Burke defines form as “an arousing and fulfillment of desires” (Foss, 2002). In his view, form is more than a structure; it the rhetor causing the audience to anticipate a certain progression and end. Obama’s speech follows the form of progression. The first idea is leading the audience to expect a logical next step which Burke defines as syllogistic progression (Foss, 2002). The rising price of oil causes America to set a goal to reduce the oil consumption by one-third which necessitates the increase of other forms of energy like natural gas (Revkin, 2011). The form used produces a certain affect in the audience (Foss, 2002). Obama is using a logical development because it demonstrates that a plan has been made and we know where we want to end up. This type of form is seen in the supporting documents for the speech. The same day as the talk was given the government released the Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future. This document gives the details of the plan that Obama outlined in his speech and it is very clear in its purpose. “What follows is a roadmap that aims to distill some of the challenges at hand, and to outline strategies for surmounting those challenges” (Blueprint, 2011). Well, if we have a roadmap then we can’t get lost! The Blueprint has a specific plan for natural gas. The focus is on expanding the use of natural gas to replace oil. The government will be encouraging other countries to use more natural gas as well. This will be done while the environmental effects of natural gas are closely examined (Blueprint, 2011). There is, in fact, yet another document detailing the plan for ensuring the safety of natural gas drilling written by the Shale Gas Subcommittee of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. “[T]he Subcommittee has highlighted important steps . . . to ensure that shale operations proceed in the safest way possible, with enhanced efficiency and minimized adverse impact” (SEAB, 2011). This also has a progressive form used to show the audience that the dangers of natural gas drilling are recognized and a strategy has been established to deal with those dangers. The speech, Blueprint, and SEAB report are all products of a government reassuring the people that a plan is in place with definite goals.
The use of rhetoric can allow an individual to understand the meaning behind all the words. It highlighted that President Obama’s speech on energy is really concerned with reaching his goal of reducing oil. It also demonstrated that the form of his speech gave the audience the expectation for an outlined step-by-step plan. Rhetoric has also clarified the role of natural gas in the energy plan which gives some answers to individuals who are cautious about using this source of energy.
References
Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future. (2011). Energy.
Foss, Sonja K.; Foss, Karen A.; and Trapp, Robert. (2002). Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric. Waveland Press. Prospect Heights: Illinois.
Revkin, A. (2011, March 31). Obama’s New Plan for Old Goal, Cutting Oil Imports. New York Times. Retrieved from http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/obamas-new-plan-for-old-goal-cutting-oil-imports/
SEAB Shale Gas Subcommittee Report (2011). Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. http://www.shalegas.energy.gov/
