Bushra Ahmed Mrs. Norris AP Language and Composition 7 February 2023 The State of the Union Address enables Presidents to describe the most pressing issues the US is facing and provide solutions through the proposal of new laws and policies. It serves as a reminder of the current affairs in which legislators are attempting to reach a bipartisan consensus. On February 7th, 2023 President Joe Biden fulfilled his constitutional duty in his State of the Union Address after the selection of Kevin McCarthy as the new Speaker of the House. Confronting the nation's most critical issues from foreign policy with Ukraine to gun reform President Biden addresses the members of Congress to come together and unite the US in an effort to rebuild the economy. President Biden encourages Congress to see past partisan divisions and to face the US’ most pressing issues head-on by appealing to nationalistic sentiment and providing anecdotes to support his solutions. …show more content…
Reminding congress that the US “used to b No. 1 in the world in infrastructure” but has “sunk to 13th in the world” serves to bolster his argument for investing in the US infrastructure. This reality undermines the seemingly prosperous image the US tends to claim it has and urges Congress to work towards bettering its nation’s infrastructure. The US loses face at its fall in rank, this sort of shame caused by the degradation of the US position motivates congress to prove that the US has not declined in its ability and standing as a country. Thus, nationalistic sentiments to defend the image of their country arise and act as a tool to enable effective solutions to pressing issues, which, in this case, is