Senator Marco Rubio Presidential Campaign Announcement

I chose to watch the Marco Rubio Presidential Campaign Announcement speech so I could listen to a speech by someone that I didn’t know much about. I do not think Marco is the most persuasive or charismatic speaker to listen to; however, I think whoever helped write his speech knew what they were doing. His speech is textbook when it comes to how Larson’s cultural myths are used to influence and persuade people. Rubio’s speech may touch on all of the myths a little bit, but he really focuses on the wisdom of the rustic and the eternal return.

Marco’s speech begins with and is based on the wisdom of the rustic. He goes into great detail about his parents humble beginning. Both of his parents were born to poor families in Cuba. After his mother died, his father had to go work when he was 9 years old. His mother was one of seven girls raised by a disabled father who struggled to provide for their family. When they were young, his parents had big dreams for themselves, but because they were not born into wealth or power, their future was destined to be defined by their past. He tells that in 1956 they came here to America where the aspirations of people like them could be more than just dreams. His father became a bartender. His mother, a cashier, a maid, a k-mart stock clerk. They never made it big, but they were two successful immigrants who found stable jobs, owned a home, retired with security and gave all four of their children a life better than their own. His parents achieved what came to be known as the American dream.

Rubio also uses Larson’s sixth cultural myth, the eternal return. This myth refers to the idea that Americans want better times from the past and seek to create new beginnings. He says that now is the time to lead toward a new American Century. He gives a long list of things that he plans to do to help the American people have better paying modern jobs and have more people ready to work. Toward the end of his speech he says, “Yesterday is over. We're never going back. We Americans are proud of our history, but our country has been about the future and before us now is the opportunity to offer the greatest chapter yet in the amazing story of America. We can't do that by going back to the leaders and ideas of the past. We must change the decisions we are making by changing the people who are making them." He announced his candidacy for President of the United States “grounded by the lessons of our history, but inspired by the promise of our future.”

The speech writer for Marco Rubio was very persuasive and constructs all of the premises in his speech. He does a great job of speaking to people’s needs from the beginning of his speech where he says that it is after praying about the future of our country that he announces that he will run for president so he can best serve us. At the conclusion, he says that if we can capture the promise of this new century, the next generation will be the freest and the most prosperous Americans that have ever lived. If we fail, they will be the first generation of Americans to inherit a country worse off than the one left for their parents.

He shows us the need to make the right choice for the next generation so that when they are faced with a rapidly changing and uncertain world, they will say “our generation rose to face the great challenges of our time. They will say that because we did, there was still one place in the world where who you come from does not determine how far you go. Because we did, the American miracle lived on. Because we did, our children and theirs lived in a New American Century.”

The second premise appeals to our emotions. Rubio does this when uses the pride of our past and the fear of negative results in the future to persuade us to vote for him. He persuades us to hope and believe that we can improve and do better. If we do better for our children then we will be happier and they will be happier for generations to come.

The third process premise of attitudes is easy to see when you pay attention to how Rubio frames the problem today. He believes that our leaders and their ideas are stuck in the 20th Century. He shares his opinion and has us see how we agree with him. He believes that our leaders appease our enemies, betray our allies and weaken our military. We know that we can improve and do better and we feel like we want to help be part of the change.

The final premise is consistency. Rubio points out we are uncertain about the future with the leaders we currently have. He talks about how bad our current situation is in America. He talks about the decline in our country. Most people would agree with him and say that we need to make some changes or we face an uncertain future. For those who believe that our country is fine and that we are moving in the right direction this conversation might cause some dissonance. Because of his suggestions that seem so simple and the way he presents his message it is compelling and moves one to change their belief and want to help make a change.