Kromhout 1

Jacob Kromhout
Professor Landrus
ENGL 101
6 November 2015
When Will It Be Enough?
How many times have we heard about the deaths of our innocent fellow Americans this
year alone from a mass shooting? How many families have to be destroyed before we wake up and
realize that there needs to be a stronger way of preventing mentally unstable people from acquiring
dangerous weapons? It has gotten to the point that no one is really shocked anymore. Of course
people are sad and feel sympathy for those families and friends who lost lives, but no one cares
enough to actually do something about it. On October 1, 2015, there was yet another mass
shooting, but this time it was at a community college in Oregon. Ten people lost their lives that
day, and ten families had to come home without a loved one knowing they would never see them
again. No one seems to be bothered by these killings more than President Obama, and since he is
expected to give what is to be assumed a difficult speech each time, it is happening all too often.
On October 2, President Obama was forced to stand in front of America and ask When will it be
enough? to change how guns are bought and sold in America? President Obama loads this speech
with rhetoric by using ethos, logos, kairos, and pathos in order to convey his message through yet
another preventable speech on the need for gun restrictions due to a mass shooting at a community
college in Oregon.
President Obama felt the need to speak on this shooting not because it was anything unusual
in America, as terrible as that is to say. He spoke on the tragedy because of the frequency of these
occurrences, and he hoped that a spark would be ignited for change like promised when he took
office. The rhetorical situation is the need for change in the way guns are bought and sold in

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America. This is a plague in America currently which is leading to innocent lives being lost with
no real explanation or justice. President Obama explains that the people who are pro-gun being
represented by large lobbying companies are not seeking their best interest. They are seeking the
best interest of the company, which of course is more money. President Obama, as the Head of
State, is seeking Americans to open their eyes to the tragedies that are taking place almost weekly.
It is stunning that someone has to have their own family harmed in one of these incidents before
any action will be taken. Americans now have a lack of interest in politics that Mr. Obama is
trying to arouse in order to push onto Congress a call to end the mass shootings, the families being
torn apart, and the ease of access to guns by people who are mentally unfit and unstable.
President Obama, in a fiery but heart-felt speech, uses ethos, establishing his credibility on
the topic, in order to help captivate his audiences attention. President Obama is not a gun expert,
and more than likely he is not spending his free time going target shooting. However, he is an
elected official in the most popular election in America with experts on the field backing his
statements and ensuring he is giving correct and up to date information to the American public.
However, President Obamas speech occurred rather quickly before determining if this shooting
could have even been prevented through the laws that he is pushing.

President Obama

acknowledges the claims that opposing members will criticize him about What is also routine is
that somebody, somewhere will comment and say 'Obama politicized this issue.' Well this is
something we should politicize. It is relevant to our common life together, to the body politic
(Obama). By acknowledging what others will criticize him with and use in their argument against
him, he is showing that he is very well studied on the topic and knows the opponents rebuttal
during his own initial speech.
There is an immediate call for logos, an appeal to logic, that Mr. Obama makes to
Americans by explaining situations in Europe as well as what Congress has done to allow gun

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companies to run America through the Second Amendment. He points out that we are not the only
country in the world with angry young men who have intentions to hurt others (Obama). However,
we are the only country that allows these men to acquire weapons to do harm to others. Countries
in Europe respond to just one mass shooting. Countries all over Europe, which are just as
developed socially and economically as America, are not having mass shootings every week. They
had one and put laws into place to prevent more from happening like anyone with any sense would.
Logically, America would be doing the same after the shooting in 2007, or the one in 2012, or the
multiple ones the last two years that will continue happening. Sensibly, America would make
these same changes or at least collect data on the incidents and why they happen. However, as
President Obama points out, the American Congress has blocked government agencies from doing
just that. The majority of the law abiding gun owners in this State feel that what the president is
preaching is correct, and as President Obama presents these statistics it helps raise an alarm for
action necessary today.
Through the entire speech he presents kairos, showing that this is the opportune moment
to make a change in the way gun laws are carried out in order to further prevent mass shootings
and innocent lives lost. By doing so effectively, President Obama utilizes the exigence of the
situation, the importance. Earlier this year, I answered a question in an interview by saying, The
United States of America is the one advanced nation on Earth in which we do not have sufficient
common-sense gun-safety laws -- even in the face of repeated mass killings. And later that day,
there was a mass shooting at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana. That day! (Obama).
President Obama is showing how the lack of gun control is killing innocent lives, even the same
day that he gave a speech to try and prevent this from happening. These shootings happen
regularly, and they are not being prevented from happening. Even if something was done that day
to initiate the legislation process, nothing would or could have prevented the shooting that day, but

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how about the families that lost a loved one that week or that month? Someone, even if it was just
one family, is better than doing nothing and making more people suffer.
The most important part of the entire speech is the use of pathos, an appeal of emotions.
President Obama, as well as the rest of the nation, is stunned by yet another school shooting. More
families and loved ones are hurting in America, and This is a political choice that we make to
allow this to happen every few months in America. We collectively are answerable to those
families who lose their loved ones because of our inaction (Obama). This powerful line makes
his audience think about their own families and loved ones. What if it was in Maryland or
Tennessee instead of Oregon? Friends and family members could have been killed, and it would
not be people across the nation suffering. It would be us. It would be you.
President Obama presents a strong and unique argument through exigence by using many
rhetorical strategies in order to convince Americans that something can and must be done in order
to prevent mass shootings from further happening. Through ethos, logos, kairos, and pathos which
are all keys to a good argument such as establishing credibility, appealing to logic, showing that
there is a need today, and most importantly appealing to emotions, a powerful speech is presented
in front of Americans, Congress and families who have lost loved ones to mass shootings that have
yet to be fixed due to the lack of gun safety laws in America.

Works Cited
Obama, Barack. Response to the Oregon Shooting at Umpqua Community College.
Washington D.C. 2 October 2015. Speech.