Rhetorical_Analysis_of_“Remarks_to_the_Naacp_National_Convention”

Rhetorical Analysis of “Remarks to the NAACP National Convention” In the article “Remarks to the NAACP National Convention”, Michelle Obama speaks about her “Let’s Move” campaign to fight the issue of childhood obesity. She starts by welcoming those who are attending the NAACP convention and thanking them for their support. Mrs. Obama transitions into an upbeat speech that shows how the NAACP has fought out against unfair practices and the treatment of people for over a hundred years. She does this in order to illustrate that obesity is another issue that the NAACP should take on because inequalities in income and wealth are a major influence on obesity rates. She warns that obesity is a serious problem that affects every community in the United States, and demonstrates why obesity rates have gone up due to changes in lifestyle and how they are different from when she was a child. Mrs. Obama outlines her “Let’s Move” campaign with four critical points. These points include: giving parents information to make healthy choices for their families, bringing healthier and more nutritious food into schools, finding ways to motivate children to exercise and be active, and making sure that all families have equal access to nutritious and affordable food where they live. Finally, after proposing ways in which these goals may be achieved, Mrs. Obama urges the NAACP to take actions that would help in her plight to eliminate childhood obesity and make America a healthier nation. Mrs. Obama primarily targets her speech toward members of the NAACP, since they are attending the convention. However, the words and phrases that are used, such as “And if we don’t do something to reverse this trend right now, our kids won’t be in any shape to continue the work begun by the founders of this great organization”, suggest that her speech is directed beyond members of the NAACP (420). The way that she uses “we” to describe who should be reversing the trend of childhood obesity, and the use of “our” when describing the children who are affected by it, illustrate that Mrs. Obama is also targeting parents. To go even further, Mrs. Obama also speaks to African American parents by citing statistics that are relevant to them such as, “African American children are significantly more likely to be obese than are white children”(420). This quote is relevant to an African American parent because they would most likely be concerned with the welfare and health of their children. Throughout her speech, Mrs. Obama appeals to the audience through logos, pathos, and ethos. All of these appeals work together in order to make her argument stronger, and they increase the likelihood that an audience will identify with the problems that are posed, which helps to garner support for her “Let’s Move” campaign. Mrs. Obama uses a logos appeal extensively throughout her speech. She provides relevant statistics that relate to the issue of childhood obesity, and places them carefully in her speech in order to clarify their importance to her argument. Some facts that she includes are: “in America, one of three children is overweight or obese” (420), “babies that are breastfed are less likely to be obese as children”, and “if you’re obese, there’s a 40 percent chance that your kids will be obese as well….And if both parents are obese, the number increases to 80 percent” (430). The first statistic, highlighting that one in three American children is either overweight or obese, notifies the audience that childhood obesity is a distressing issue. This supports Mrs. Obama’s claim that we must strive to reduce obesity levels because higher obesity levels have been linked with an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other harmful effects. The second statistic, revealing decreased obesity levels when breastfeeding was promoted at birth, supports her initiative to increase nutrition levels by advocating healthy choices at birth and at an early age. If more babies were breastfed and healthier choices were instituted in the beginning of their lives, rather than in their teens or adulthood, then obesity rates could be less of an issue. The third statistic is a powerful one: it shows a direct relationship between obese parents, and the likelihood that their children will be obese. This supports Mrs. Obama’s claim that living a healthy lifestyle and eating nutritious meals should be a focus of parents as well as children. If parents do not change their own negative habits or make no attempt to become healthier, then what reason would children have to make healthier choices' Mrs. Obama uses ethos to give herself credibility in her speech. She concedes that her family has struggled with making healthy choices, and that her daughter was at risk for being overweight. In fact, it was her daughters’ pediatrician that recommended a change for the Obama family, a change in their dietary habits (425). Mrs. Obama expresses joy in her speech by noting how changing both her and her family’s habits, in an attempt to become healthier, was positive and beneficial to them. A mixture of both ethos and pathos is used when Mrs. Obama compares her lifestyle while growing up to the lifestyle of children that are growing up in more recent times. In her childhood, she: walked to school every day… had recess and gym class during the week…her parents made her go outside and get exercise…almost never ate food in restaurants…meal sizes were not too large…there was always a vegetable included with a meal… and dessert was not expected (421-422). This is a stark contrast between Mrs. Obamas childhood, and the childhood of modern children. In her speech, she provides necessary details that reveal why her childhood differs from that of a modern child. She emphasizes that “many kids today either ride in a car or a bus when traveling to school, that recess and gym classes are eliminated due to decreased school funding, and parents are afraid that children may get hurt outside which leads to decreased activity levels and an increase in calorie consumption” (423). She also stresses the points that “nutritious food is less available due to an absence of grocery stores in some communities, more fast food is consumed due to parents not taking the time to cook at home, and that many kids are spending money on unhealthy snacks throughout the day in increasing amounts” (423). This establishes that Mrs. Obama has a wide knowledge of lifestyle choices exhibited during her childhood, as well as the childhood of modern children. This drives home her point that changes in lifestyle are necessary in order to reduce obesity levels, and that current lifestyle choices are almost the complete opposite of the healthier attitudes she grew up with as a child. Another assertion by Mrs. Obama that exemplifies an if/then statement, is “even if we offer the most nutritious school meals…give kids every opportunity to be fit… and give parents the information needed to prepare healthy food… all that won’t mean much if our families still live in communities where that healthy food simply isn’t available in the first place” (426-7). The statement implies that even if there are plenty of opportunities to be healthy in an area or community, those opportunities may not be worth pursuing due to a lack of access to healthy food in communities. This helps the audience recognize that the fourth part of her plan, making sure that families have access to fresh and healthy food, is critical in reducing obesity levels. She uses logos to further emphasize her claim by citing the statistic that 23.5 million Americans live in “food deserts”. Mrs. Obama defines a “food desert” as “an area without a supermarket”; this could further be defined as any area where there are relatively little options in regard to the availability of healthy and nutritious food. She asserts that when healthy options are available, people will take advantage of them, and she uses logos to present a statistic relevant to her audience. She cites a study that shows African Americans eating 32 percent more fruits and vegetables for each additional supermarket in the area they live (427). This statistic further verifies Mrs. Obama’s claim that obesity levels can be reduced more effectively and that people will generally make healthier choices when given the opportunity to, but only when they have the resources to do so. Finally, Mrs. Obama ends her speech with an emotional appeal in mind. She expresses concern for her goal to reduce obesity rates and make America healthier. She acknowledges that while it will be a difficult task, people should be inspired by the great accomplishments of the NAACP. She describes some of these accomplishments in detail and attempts to elicit an emotional response from the audience as they hear of the struggles that hundreds and even thousands of people have undertaken in an effort to provide a better future for their children or grandchildren. Mrs. Obama pleads with the NAACP, her primary audience, to support her goal of changing the health of communities in America and securing a better future for children by promoting healthy choices, providing parents with information to make good choices, distributing resources necessary to implement these choices, and reducing the inequality of individuals so everyone has an equal opportunity to be healthy. She claims that “We cannot change the health of our community alone”, in an additional appeal to emotions, and attempts to garner support to accomplish her goals (432). I think that these strategies were used effectively in the context of her audience, the NAACP, but as a casual reader, I found myself disconnected from what she was saying at times. Overall, I believe that Mrs. Obama was able to use a variety of rhetorical strategies to promote awareness of several problems that childhood obesity causes, provide solutions by outlining an initiative that can be applied to reduce obesity rates, acknowledge solutions already taking place as part of her plan, and garner support. Finally, Mrs. Obama does so in an effective way that appeals to the emotional and logical aspects of her audience, and establishes her as a credible and reliable source of information.