Burke v Churchill

Burke says that in order to effectively persuade someone you must first identify with that person: “You persuade a man only insofar as you can talk his language by speech, gesture, tonality, order, image, attitude, idea, identifying your ways with his.” You must relate to persuade. That was the problem with Churchill. He could not relate, nor did he try to relate to the audience. Without similarities or common ground it is easy to blow someone off.

While some Europeans were able to agree with Churchill through antithesis or identification; few Westerners were. Churchill’s piece also did not hold to Burke’s notion that “people communicate in an attempt to elimination division.” While rhetoric attempts to bring about agreement through language; Churchill’s message was lost on many.