Deconstructing America Rhetorical Analysis

The ability for people to look at a situation from a different perspective is vital in today’s globalized society. Diversity is the most important, core attribute we each share that gives us the ability to assess new situations through our diverse backgrounds and upbringings. Unlike Patrick J. Buchanan’s argument in his essay titled “Deconstructing America,” diversity is a necessity in America’s culture as opposed to the burden it is described as. Conversely, Fredrickson 's essay titled “Models of American Ethnic Relations: A Historical Perspective,” illustrated a more precise version of American history that disproves Buchanan’s ethnocentric ideologies. Buchanan speaks of diversity on a narrow, one-way street. His imprecise interpretations

Coupled with these distorted examples, Buchanan uses strong and impassioned examples explaining how diversity has formerly failed Americans. At one point, Buchanan listed atrocities committed by Americans through the years attempting to channel an emotional response from the reader. Buchanan lists “The war between the States was about race. Reconstruction was about race. Segregation was about race” (600). Although the examples he uses are inarguably about race, they brought forth injustices to the greater public becoming important parts of our American history and growth as a nation. Reflecting on our past mistakes while forgetting our growth is not a valid argument when attempting to prove that diversity is inconvenient. America has endured hard times before and we have been able to persevere through the strength of all its people, including those of color. These examples are frequently used to elicit a response in favor of the author’s point of view without needing solid facts from basing it on history. By using these types of examples, Buchanan was able to back up his points without evidence, making the essay an example of poor writing and

Most of his examples included a reference to race as the major factor contributing to the negative effects in society. This example of poor writing that ultimately undermines Buchanan’s own points when while examining American culture from the past to the present. Buchanan argues that the changing demographics in the United States contributes to the supposedly negative aspects in our lives. He states “Today, we Americans disagree over whether annihilating 45 million babies in the womb… is a mark of progress or a monstrous national evil…” (Buchanan 599). The author uses emotionally charged words such as “annihilating” as well as contributing the women’s rights issue to the changing demographics. America’s laws should be based on the majority of the people’s views instead of solely the white protestants as Buchanan implies it should. Fredrickson’s essay examines the idea of how our laws should be in our society expressing that “the mutual understandings upon which the national unity and cohesion could be based needed to be negotiated rather than simply imposed by the Euro-American majority” (573). Being a nation of many cultures, we have to accept that we are diverse and allow minorities the ability to change and alter laws when human rights is an issue. A conservative political message is strongly pushed throughout