Emotional Appeal: "A World of Hurt" by Bob Herbert

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/opinion/15herbert.html

In his NYT Op-ed piece "A World of Hurt," columnist Bob Herbert creates an emotional appeal to people who have suffered from the effects of the past two years of our country's recession. He concedes that the Obama administration and the Federal Reserve Committee have taken action to alleviate our economic distress, but that the end of our problems is not yet in sight. "This recession, a full-blown economic horror, has left a gaping hole in the heart of working America that is unlikely to heal for years, if not decades," he states. Herbert is recognizing the suffering that people have experienced through the recession, and he is creating an emotional appeal that resounds with working class people who have suffered most significantly.

Herbert effectively appeals to his audience like a preacher to a congregation: "We’re hurtin’ and there ain’t much healin’ on the horizon." In other words, people are suffering and they want that suffering to be acknowledged, not swept under the rug by false assurances of a recovery. He states, "It’s eerie to me how little attention this crisis is receiving. The poor seem to be completely out of the picture." Herbert implies the facts without stating them: most of the bailout money went to large corporations and banks that were failing, and it did nothing to help the unemployed. The financial and auto industry may be recovering, but individuals are not: "Unemployment benefits for many are running out. Families are doubling up, and the number of homeless children is rising." Herbert's emotional appeal resonates with people who are jobless and facing a financial crisis that affects their ability to survive, not just to be successful. This is a frightening prospect for families and individuals, and they feel helpless at the hands of a system that has not benefitted them.

Concerning the emotion of fear in terms of power and authority, Aristotle says that, "And since most men tend to be bad- slaves to greed, and cowards in danger- it is, as a rule, a terrible thing to be at another man's mercy; and therefore, if we have done anything horrible, those in the secret terrify us with the thought that they may betray or desert us" (70). Herbert is not too focused on making logical arguments, not because the logical appeal is not there, but because an emotional appeal is more effective for those who are suffering. People are already past being afraid of losing their jobs; they have already lost them. Working people have already made up their mind who is to blame for the recession; they don't want facts and figures, they want recognition of their suffering. Herbert is also effective in creating a sense of guilt in the reader who may be better off financially than those who are truly suffering. This sense of guilt motivates people with any sort of conscience towards action to help others in need. In conclusion, the combination of identification and reproach is what makes Herbert's argument so effective.