Blog 5

In Richard Lieber’s 1942 speech to the 7^th District Federation of Women’s Club, he discusses a need for change in the way the United States consumes their natural resources. Lieber engages in political rhetoric and persuasion and wants this organization to see that the waning of natural resources in the United States was a real problem. His ideas, arguments, and thoughts are mildly unchanged more than 50 years later. This speech reminds me of the movie, The 11^th Hour, there is the same urgency in tone by Lieber in regards to the change that needed to occur. The 11^th Hour appeals to the audience by showing the deterioration of the natural resources of the Earth and Lieber uses facts about consumption to paint the United States in a harsh light compared to the rest of the world and their consumption. The United States was in a time of war and Lieber uses the situation of war to further his appeal to the audience. He says, “use of war and appeal to preserve man”, this quote is directed at these mothers, sisters, or relatives of the men off fighting war. Lieber saw a need to preserve the American spirit and saw the needs of the American people and posed thoughts about going forward in our independence not backwards. To Lieber nature was a part of a continuum of living and it was our duty as Americans to “reduce the intensity of the struggle for existence”. He uses facts about the United States consumption of telephones and telegraphs as a way to self-reflect on why we use so much of what has been placed on the earth and how can we reduce that. During this important time in the world’s history Lieber acknowledges that economics are important and the fulfilling of the American Dream is an important aspect of the way of life in our country. The fact that the United States was in the middle of World War II is an advantage to Lieber because he sees that natural resources are being consumed at an extremely fast rate and that lives are being lost and those resources can be used responsibly, even in war. The end of his argument for reducing consumption is an appeal to the audience to be a “true patriot”, he states “true patriotism is practical patriotism”. This quote’s relation the political rhetoric unit we have discussed in class in very strong. The article by Ida Wells-Barnett, “Lynch Law in America”, touches on patriotism as a way of relaying an argument or enhancing point to an audience. Leiber does the same thing and truly believes that in order to solve the problem of consumption of natural resources Americans must first look at their own selves and realize that the problem is vast and as citizens and “patriots” they must take action.