Ronald Reagan's "Evil Empire" Speech Essay

" (Abrogate means to "Abolish by authoritative action"). Here is a fear appeal by Reagan; in other words, if the conservative Christian movement doesn't stand up to the liberals who want progressive policies on abortion, those liberals will destroy democracy.

After criticizing the people who stand for things that the Christian conservative movement opposes, and clearly staking out his position as a "good" president who opposes "evil" things in society, Reagan launched into his main agenda for the day, his metaphor that the Soviet Union is the devil personified. Built into the metaphor of Soviets as the devil is Reagan's fear appeals. In the Soviet Union, "Morality is entirely subordinate to the interests of class war," Reagan explained; the "only morality they recognize is…world revolution" (fear appeal).

"We will never give away our freedom," Reagan went on, and in a few moments attacked (without mentioning their names) those U.S. Senators and Congressmen (and other leaders) who had demanded the U.S. stop testing underground nuclear devices in Nevada. "The truth is, a freeze now would be a very dangerous fraud," he said, and "dangerous fraud" here is a metaphor for those who would have the U.S. halt its nuclear weapons' buildup. By calling they dangerous and fraudulent, Reagan elevates himself as the leader to a place with higher moral values.

"The kind of freeze that has been suggested would be virtually impossible to verify," Reagan asserted. By "freeze" Reagan meant the U.S. unilaterally would just stop producing new and bigger weapons, which some people had recommended but their voices were never taken very seriously in Washington DC. At this point in the rhetoric, Reagan uses a story involving children to touch hearts in the audience, and to pound home his theme that the communists in the Soviet Union are the devil. The father (in Reagan's story) said he would rather see "my little girls die now; still believing in God, than have them grow up under communism and one day die no longer believing in God." The metaphor here embraces martyrdom. This is pure fear appeal, to bring little girls into the discussion, and then to say the father had spoken "profound truth."

Finally, Reagan gets down to it, saying the Soviet Union is the "…focus of evil in the modern world." Not Satan, but the Soviet Union. We can't see Satan, but we can see the Soviets. And there were more enemies to chastise on this day for Reagan, including those who would engage in a "simpleminded appeasement" of Soviet intentions. The "simpleminded" here is a metaphor for liberals and moderates who were urging Reagan to back off the harsh rhetoric and try to cut a deal with the Soviets. Eventually, Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union and after instituting radical reforms, brought the communist nation into the democratic community. But in conclusion, it is clear that if God only has a positive influence in democracy, then in countries that don't believe in God must be ruled by Lucifer, the Devil.