Whistleblowing Agency
Rhetoric, the art of persuasive speaking, is a strategy of appealing to an audience
through one's argument. Arguments consist of the Rhetorical Situation, which is,
the text, reader, author, exigency and constraints. Text, being the words of the
argument that contain the Logos, or logic. Reader, the audience to the argument
being conveyed or pathos. Author, the person conveying the argument or ethos.
Exigency, the relevance of the argument to current times. Lastly the constraints
between text, reader, and author.
In the un-titled whistleblowing interview conducted by journalist Glenn Greenwald,
Edward Snowden, the one being interviewed, is a former intelligence agency
employee that has recently been in the media spotlight due to his decision to
disclose classified government documents to the media, revealing the NSA’s and
other intelligence agencies, operational details of global surveillance programs. Snowden holds
credibility in his resume. According to Snowden, he has worked as a “systems
engineer, systems administrator, Senior Advisor for the Central Intelligence
Agency, a solutions consultant, and a telecommunications information systems
officer.” He is currently resides in Russia, and is listed as a fugitive by
American authorities who charged him with espionage in 2013, and theft of
government property.
Kairos in the rhetorical situation is the reason an argument on an issue or a topic has
to be made here and now. Also known as the exigency of the topic it is the
urgency which makes the issue the priority to discuss. It is the reason of the
author or writer and the purpose of their message. Kairos comes from the Greek
word “Kairos” and it means “opportunity” or “timeliness”. this is applied to the
rhetorical triangle and it signifies the opportune time to argue a case so that
it would be most effective. it also signifies the reason it is so important in
that moment which gives the issue urgency and must be dealt with here and now.
In the Interview discussing whistleblowing Edward Snowden defends his actions and
calls upon the necessity there was for him to do what he did here and now. It
was his duty to inform the public of the actions the United States government
was taking in secret. As an employee he saw the abuses that were taking place
and the wrongdoings. He also saw how nobody else in his position was willing to
bring these abuses to light and go against forces more powerful than
him.
Snowden argues that the reason it was so urgent for him to inform the public was because
the NSA was going against their rights and it would only get worse so it had to
be dealt with. The NSA was targeting everyone and gathering information,
invading everyone’s private life. The problem which gave Snowden such purpose
was that this was being done in secret, without the people’s approval. With the
information the NSA gathered the had the power to take an innocent individual
and fabricate suspicion around them over a crime they did not commit. With every
passing year the NSA was gathering more information in secret and more power to
do so. The public deserved an explanation on the activities of the government
eavesdropping into their lives.
Ethos, or the credibility of an author, is one of three main points to the rhetorical
triangle. The importance of ethos lies in its ability to establish trust with
the audience or reader. For example, if someone who has never owned a dog tried
to give advice on taking care of dogs, their argument would not hold much
credibility based on their lack of experience in the field. Ethos should be both
intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsically, the author’s vocabulary or spelling
could tell a lot about level of education, while extrinsically, the author’s
past education, and former careers or resume can show experience.
Edward Snowden has a vast resume that gives him extrinsic credibility, as well
as a presence and a charismatic way of speaking that shows his intrinsic
credibility as well. According to Snowden, he has been a “systems engineer,
systems administrator, Senior Advisor for the Central Intelligence Agency,
solutions consultant, and a telecommunications information systems officer.” He
also has been able to hold a position in the intelligence agency that has given
him access to classified files, files that he later exposed. Prior to his
government work he attended a Anne Arundel Community College, where he
studied computers.
The logos that can be seen in this Edward Snowden interview are that he claims that
what the National Security Agency is doing is abusive. The reason is that
they are observing and collecting information on a massive scale of the American
public. The warrant is that it is unethical to spy on the entire American
public. A qualifier that Edward Snowden mentions is that they are doing so
to identify threats to the United States. This is the most contested part
of this whole issue, if the NSA is protecting the United States through this
spying program, is it worth losing our privacy.
Another claim within this interview that Edward Snowden states is that the public is the
ones who should judge whether the actions of the NSA are abusive. The
reason for this is that they are the ones who are having their freedoms
infringed upon. The warrant for this is that does the person who is losing
their liberties in exchange for safety from threats think it is worth
it.
A particularly notable aspect specific to Edward Snowden’s whistle blowing is that
he chose to reveal his identity. This is contrary to most whistleblowers
that choose to do so anonymously. The claim is that Snowden believes the
American public is owed an explanation. The reason for this is that
Snowden believes that if he leaked this information anonymously that it allows
the government to control how the information is released to the press.
The warrant is that the American public should be given an unbiased
knowledge about what their government is doing behind their backs.
Pathos is a part of the three tenets of rhetorical analysis that also includes logos
and ethos. Pathos refers to the writing technique that appeals to the beliefs or
emotions of the targeted audience. The goal is to trigger positive or negative
emotions in the reader depending on which side of the issue the writer wants the
reader to be pushed towards. The four techniques that are used to inject pathos
into an argument are the use of concrete language, specific examples and
illustrations, narratives, and the connotations of words metaphors and
analogies.
In reference to the Edward Snowden interview that we are analyzing, he uses pathos very well to
further the intensity of his argument very well without distracting the audience
from the main claim. He makes several appeals throughout the interview. He
appeals to the emotions of the American public who will be horrified by the
invasions of their personal privacy that have been committed by the American
intelligence and surveillance agencies. This is an interesting appeal because it
also refers to the values that the American government was built on. The
government is expected to respect and protect the privacy of its citizens but
the information revealed by the documents Snowden leaked has evidence pointing
to the contrary. A final appeal that Snowden makes is that he appeals to the
fear that the common public has of government tyranny and the use of brutal
force. This fear is ingrained in us by seeing it being done in other governments
around the world and back in the Revolutionary period of our own history from
Britain. When Snowden speaks about how the CIA and other government agencies are
after him and the lengths that they will or can go to in order to detain him he
appeals to this built up distrust we have. These techniques are effective in
drumming up sympathy for Snowden because we would not enjoy being in the same
position and he committed his actions because he believed that he was doing what
had to be done to protect basic rights that all Americans value greatly. These
factors strengthen his claim that he was right to blow the whistle and that
something needs to change in the American surveillance system.
Rhetoric, the art of persuasive speaking, is a strategy of appealing to an audience
through one's argument. Arguments consist of the Rhetorical Situation, which is,
the text, reader, author, exigency and constraints. Text, being the words of the
argument that contain the Logos, or logic. Reader, the audience to the argument
being conveyed or pathos. Author, the person conveying the argument or ethos.
Exigency, the relevance of the argument to current times. Lastly the constraints
between text, reader, and author.
In the un-titled whistleblowing interview conducted by journalist Glenn Greenwald,
Edward Snowden, the one being interviewed, is a former intelligence agency
employee that has recently been in the media spotlight due to his decision to
disclose classified government documents to the media, revealing the NSA’s and
other intelligence agencies, operational details of global surveillance programs. Snowden holds
credibility in his resume. According to Snowden, he has worked as a “systems
engineer, systems administrator, Senior Advisor for the Central Intelligence
Agency, a solutions consultant, and a telecommunications information systems
officer.” He is currently resides in Russia, and is listed as a fugitive by
American authorities who charged him with espionage in 2013, and theft of
government property.
Kairos in the rhetorical situation is the reason an argument on an issue or a topic has
to be made here and now. Also known as the exigency of the topic it is the
urgency which makes the issue the priority to discuss. It is the reason of the
author or writer and the purpose of their message. Kairos comes from the Greek
word “Kairos” and it means “opportunity” or “timeliness”. this is applied to the
rhetorical triangle and it signifies the opportune time to argue a case so that
it would be most effective. it also signifies the reason it is so important in
that moment which gives the issue urgency and must be dealt with here and now.
In the Interview discussing whistleblowing Edward Snowden defends his actions and
calls upon the necessity there was for him to do what he did here and now. It
was his duty to inform the public of the actions the United States government
was taking in secret. As an employee he saw the abuses that were taking place
and the wrongdoings. He also saw how nobody else in his position was willing to
bring these abuses to light and go against forces more powerful than
him.
Snowden argues that the reason it was so urgent for him to inform the public was because
the NSA was going against their rights and it would only get worse so it had to
be dealt with. The NSA was targeting everyone and gathering information,
invading everyone’s private life. The problem which gave Snowden such purpose
was that this was being done in secret, without the people’s approval. With the
information the NSA gathered the had the power to take an innocent individual
and fabricate suspicion around them over a crime they did not commit. With every
passing year the NSA was gathering more information in secret and more power to
do so. The public deserved an explanation on the activities of the government
eavesdropping into their lives.
Ethos, or the credibility of an author, is one of three main points to the rhetorical
triangle. The importance of ethos lies in its ability to establish trust with
the audience or reader. For example, if someone who has never owned a dog tried
to give advice on taking care of dogs, their argument would not hold much
credibility based on their lack of experience in the field. Ethos should be both
intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsically, the author’s vocabulary or spelling
could tell a lot about level of education, while extrinsically, the author’s
past education, and former careers or resume can show experience.
Edward Snowden has a vast resume that gives him extrinsic credibility, as well
as a presence and a charismatic way of speaking that shows his intrinsic
credibility as well. According to Snowden, he has been a “systems engineer,
systems administrator, Senior Advisor for the Central Intelligence Agency,
solutions consultant, and a telecommunications information systems officer.” He
also has been able to hold a position in the intelligence agency that has given
him access to classified files, files that he later exposed. Prior to his
government work he attended a Anne Arundel Community College, where he
studied computers.
The logos that can be seen in this Edward Snowden interview are that he claims that
what the National Security Agency is doing is abusive. The reason is that
they are observing and collecting information on a massive scale of the American
public. The warrant is that it is unethical to spy on the entire American
public. A qualifier that Edward Snowden mentions is that they are doing so
to identify threats to the United States. This is the most contested part
of this whole issue, if the NSA is protecting the United States through this
spying program, is it worth losing our privacy.
Another claim within this interview that Edward Snowden states is that the public is the
ones who should judge whether the actions of the NSA are abusive. The
reason for this is that they are the ones who are having their freedoms
infringed upon. The warrant for this is that does the person who is losing
their liberties in exchange for safety from threats think it is worth
it.
A particularly notable aspect specific to Edward Snowden’s whistle blowing is that
he chose to reveal his identity. This is contrary to most whistleblowers
that choose to do so anonymously. The claim is that Snowden believes the
American public is owed an explanation. The reason for this is that
Snowden believes that if he leaked this information anonymously that it allows
the government to control how the information is released to the press.
The warrant is that the American public should be given an unbiased
knowledge about what their government is doing behind their backs.
Pathos is a part of the three tenets of rhetorical analysis that also includes logos
and ethos. Pathos refers to the writing technique that appeals to the beliefs or
emotions of the targeted audience. The goal is to trigger positive or negative
emotions in the reader depending on which side of the issue the writer wants the
reader to be pushed towards. The four techniques that are used to inject pathos
into an argument are the use of concrete language, specific examples and
illustrations, narratives, and the connotations of words metaphors and
analogies.
In reference to the Edward Snowden interview that we are analyzing, he uses pathos very well to
further the intensity of his argument very well without distracting the audience
from the main claim. He makes several appeals throughout the interview. He
appeals to the emotions of the American public who will be horrified by the
invasions of their personal privacy that have been committed by the American
intelligence and surveillance agencies. This is an interesting appeal because it
also refers to the values that the American government was built on. The
government is expected to respect and protect the privacy of its citizens but
the information revealed by the documents Snowden leaked has evidence pointing
to the contrary. A final appeal that Snowden makes is that he appeals to the
fear that the common public has of government tyranny and the use of brutal
force. This fear is ingrained in us by seeing it being done in other governments
around the world and back in the Revolutionary period of our own history from
Britain. When Snowden speaks about how the CIA and other government agencies are
after him and the lengths that they will or can go to in order to detain him he
appeals to this built up distrust we have. These techniques are effective in
drumming up sympathy for Snowden because we would not enjoy being in the same
position and he committed his actions because he believed that he was doing what
had to be done to protect basic rights that all Americans value greatly. These
factors strengthen his claim that he was right to blow the whistle and that
something needs to change in the American surveillance system.