{"id":28999,"date":"2022-03-16T04:33:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-16T04:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=28999"},"modified":"2022-03-20T22:16:56","modified_gmt":"2022-03-20T22:16:56","slug":"i-have-a-need-how-zelenskyys-plea-to-congress-emphasized-shared-identity-with-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/i-have-a-need-how-zelenskyys-plea-to-congress-emphasized-shared-identity-with-us\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I have a need\u2019: How Zelensky\u2019s plea to Congress emphasized shared identity with US"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Karrin Vasby Anderson<\/a>, Colorado State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking from his nation\u2019s capital of Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress<\/a> as Russian shells continue to bombard the city<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the historic event on March 16, 2022, Zelenskyy sought to persuade U.S. legislators and the American public of the similarities between U.S. history and Ukraine\u2019s present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A savvy communicator<\/a>, Zelenskyy understands that before a speaker can argue for policy changes \u2013 in this case, stronger action from the U.S. against Russian aggression \u2013 they must create a shared identity with the audience. In many ways, every successful political speech is an exercise in community building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a political communication scholar<\/a>, I study what makes political messages persuasive and how strategic communication does more than just argue for policy \u2013 it creates individual and group identities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This principle has been known for decades. Writing in the immediate aftermath of World War II, communication scholar Kenneth Burke challenged the assumption that successful persuasion was premised on constructing sound arguments. Instead, he said the key to persuasion is \u201cidentification\u201d<\/a> \u2013 convincing the audience that you and they have not only common interests, but a shared identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zelenskyy intuited the importance of identification, beginning his speech with a list of similarities between \u201cbrave and freedom loving\u201d Americans and Ukrainians. He compared the Russian invasion of Ukraine to calamities in U.S. history such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. He also invoked symbols like Mount Rushmore and famous U.S. speeches, such as Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s \u201cI Have a Dream\u201d speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing both Congress and the American public, he noted that the words \u201cI have a dream\u201d are \u201cknown to each of you\u201d and then echoed King, imploring: \u201cI have a need.\u201d It was a tacit but forceful argument about being on the right side of history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018This is murder\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Zelenskyy\u2019s speech marked the first time a world leader addressed a joint session of Congress remotely, and he used the digital medium to his advantage, including in his speech a video documenting Russia\u2019s destruction of Ukrainian cities and the violence experienced by Ukraine\u2019s most vulnerable citizens \u2013 particularly children. The words \u201cthis is murder\u201d flashed on the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When juxtaposed with the murder of children, Zelenskyy\u2019s requests \u2013 that the U.S. establish a no-fly zone<\/a> over Ukraine or facilitate the use of fighter jets \u2013 seem not only reasonable but imperative. This was not a deliberative message weighing the advantages and risks of potential policy proposals. It was an impassioned plea to act on behalf of shared humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It puts President Joe Biden and members of Congress in a difficult position. They have to weigh the likely outcomes of Zelenskyy\u2019s requests and are operating within a framework that emphasizes policy implications rather than one that focuses primarily on shared identity. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki emphasized on Feb. 28 that a no-fly zone would entail \u201cshooting down planes, Russian planes<\/a>,\u201d and would dangerously escalate the conflict. Critics argue that a direct, military engagement with Russian forces also would increase the likelihood of nuclear war<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because identification is more persuasive than policy arguments, however, Zelenskyy\u2019s speech will place maximum pressure on Democrats<\/a>, in particular, since they control Congress and the presidency. He also acknowledged a compromise position in his remarks, saying that if a no-fly zone was \u201ctoo much to ask, we offer an alternative,\u201d requesting more weapons that would enable Ukrainian forces to shoot down Russian aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A speech for a digital age<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Zelenskyy\u2019s message, like his communication throughout the conflict<\/a>, was produced for the social media era, with numerous quotable lines and a video that appeared to be designed to make the rounds on Twitter, Facebook and TikTok. Zelenskyy\u2019s approach aims to provide ordinary citizens with content they can use easily on social media to pressure their political representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zelenskyy ended his speech with a vision for a community of democratic nations and a governing body he\u2019s calling \u201cU24,\u201d which he defined as a \u201cunion of responsible countries\u201d nimble enough to respond to crises within 24 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His speech was not only an impassioned plea for immediate assistance. It was an attempt to create a new community more expansive and powerful than NATO or the United Nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding Americans\u2019 desire to maintain their status as the ostensible \u201cleader of the free world,\u201d Zelenskyy concluded by addressing Biden directly, saying, \u201cI wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[The Conversation\u2019s Politics + Society editors pick need-to-know stories.<\/em> Sign up for Politics Weekly<\/a>.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karrin Vasby Anderson<\/a>, Professor of Communication Studies, Colorado State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Karrin Vasby Anderson, Colorado State University Speaking from his nation\u2019s capital of Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress as Russian shells continue to bombard the city. In the historic event on March 16, 2022, Zelenskyy sought to persuade U.S. legislators and the American public of the similarities between […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":29000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[46,4],"tags":[2367,700,2197,697,234,11192,698,949,11411,11438,1797,1212,11506],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28999"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28999"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29048,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28999\/revisions\/29048"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}