Andrew Young

Andrew Young gave a very moving and motivational speech last night at the Brooks Center Theatre as part of Clemson's Martin Luther King Celebration. Young covered many of the approaches to persuasion we discussed earlier in class. Many times he discussed Jimmy Carter's presidency and how American troops didn't have to fight anyone while Carter was in the White House. Throughout his speech, Young kept repeating well-known lines from the Declaration of Independence. Young did a very good job of using pathos. He told a story about starving children he saw during his stay in Latin America during the 1960s. He was sitting outside of a restaurant when children approached with buckets in their hands, begging for any scraps the customers weren't going to eat. After getting what little bit of food they could, the children went across the street to a department store window. They stood outside, watching the television through the window, while eating the scraps out of their buckets. By using the story, Young appealed to the emotions of the audience. He knew the images evoked by the story would have a bigger effect on the people listening. Although lengthy, Young's speech was interesting enough to hold my attention. He told many stories about his life and even added a few humorous remarks every now and then.