Pathos of I Ain't Marching Anymore

Pathos refers to the values and beliefs of the intended audience. This song was simply written for the entire American public, showing his reasoning about why he does not support the war. However, more specifically, I think he is targeting the people that do support the war, perhaps in an effort to show them why he believes it is wrong. Throughout the song, he gives a perspective that not many people have seen or heard before; a perspective of a weary soldier of the many conflicts that America has been involved in. In the song, he points out the cruel acts of America throughout history, such as "I've killed my share of Indians" and "I even killed my brothers". Through this, he is criticizing the acts of American military throughout history. By giving this sort of unique perspective of the war, perhaps he was trying to convince pro-war Americans to change their minds about the war. - Justin

Audience for MLK's "It's a Dark Day in Our Nation"
When Martin Luther King Jr. gave this speech, he was speaking out to the entire nation as a whole. While the crowd may not have been insanely large to listen to him speak, with the reputation, and fame he held, people all over the country, including lawmakers and politicians. During this time, the African American community was still struggling to make it through the segregation that continued to exist in America. So the audience during this time was mixed. While Martin Luther King Jr. had earned much respect from many Americans, enough so to win a nobel prize, some people would refuse to listen, and ultimately they would disagree with the ideas of Dr. King. Incorporated into this speech, Dr. King reflects on issues that America has inside its own country, and that these issues must be faced before starting war in other countries. While exploiting these faults in America, he places himself at risk because not many Americans like to listen to how bad they have acted. As a result, Americans who supported the war, and were not open to change did not agree, or appreciate the speech. It seems that Dr. King was targeting those people, and the people in charge who can make change. This strategy creates enemies, but Dr. King believed in what he had to say, to the point of putting his life on the line to make his point.

Logos throughout I Ain't Marching Anymore
Logos is a way to use reason to persuade an audience. In this song, Ochs is trying to persuade his audience the entire time that war is not good, and he was not going to continue the fight. The logos in his song comes out through the examples of the destruction that the United States has caused throughout the world. When Ochs says, "For I stole California from the Mexican land/ Fought in the bloody Civil War/ Yes, I even killed my brothers". These statements exploit the negative aspects that The United States colonization has caused. In order to persuade the audience to not fight any longer, Ochs employs the use of reason and logic, to show why war is wrong. The entire song uses examples of logos to show the negative effects of war. The repetition of logos in the song reinforces the message that Ochs is trying to get across. Logos is used as the main mode of persuasion.

Pathos of "It's a Dark Day in Our Nation"

Pathos refers to the values and the beliefs of the intended audience. This speech was actually a sermon given at Ebenezer Baptist Church. Because of this, the intended audience in this case was probably directed to Christians. Christian people are generally less likely to succumb to violence in many potential situations. Obviously because it was a war, people gave their lives fighting in the Vietnam War, as they were killed by enemy fire. Murder is also considered to be a sin in the Christian faith. By Martin Luther King giving this sermon, he may be appealing to the emotions of Christian people. Violence and murder are two aspects that are frowned upon by everybody, but definitely by the Christian community. By appealing to certain aspects that are forbidden by the bible and the Christian faith, Martin Luther King is sure to receive a stronger response from Christians opposed to regular people. - Justin

Ethos of "It's a Dark Day in Our Nation"

Ethos refers to the credibility of the writer. In this case, the speaker of this sermon is absolutely credible, as it was given by Martin Luther King Jr. himself. Martin Luther King was the leader of the Civil Rights Movement in America. He led African-Americans in peaceful protests against Jim Crow Laws and segregation. He has grown to become one of the most influential historical figures ever in the history of the United States. However, one may in fact question Martin Luther King's credibility in this situation and say that he may simply be biased in this situation. As many people know, Martin Luther King was all about peace while he was a strong leader in the Civil Rights Movement. Because of this, some people may feel as if he would simply want to have peace in every possible scenario, without taking any other details into consideration. - Justin

Stasis Theory: MLK "Why I am Opposed to Vietnam"
In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's speech, "Why I am Opposed to Vietnam", the aspect of stasis theory that Dr. King dresses is the evaluation stage. The audience is completely aware of the Vietnam War and what it is, so Dr. King strives to evaluate the war as a whole, from people, to countries. Dr. King exploits many of the faults in the logistical reasoning of the war. One example has to deal with the cost, "...it is estimated that we spend $500,000 to kill each enemy soldier, while we spend only fifty-three dollars for each person classified as poor". He uses examples like this in order to stand by his stance that he does not support the war. He touches on all aspects of Stasis Theory, but mainly he speaks in order to show his evaluation of the war, which is that the war should end. Speakers like Dr. King do not come around that often, because most people do not want to address serious flaws in society. While he speaks out mainly against Vietnam, most of his argument is directed towards the government, and why they are wrong for doing what they do, in the country and outside of the country.

Stasis Theory: I Ain't Marching Anymore (Phil Ochs)
In this song, Phil Ochs describes the the events in his life that have made his decision to not march aka fight anymore. For that reason, I think this song hits on the Cause and Effect aspect of Stasis Theory. The cause in the situation is every action leading up to the nuclear bombs in Japan. For example Ochs says, "For I stole California from the Mexican land/ Fought in the bloody Civil War/ Yes, I even killed my brothers/ And so many others" (Ochs). Ochs goes beyond his own experiences, but rather he takes accountability for the actions that the Unites States has made up until his climax. The effect of these actions lie within Ochs' last couple of sentences, "Call it, Peace, or call it, Treason/ Call it love, or call it, Reason/ But I aint marching anymore/ No, I ain't marching anymore". All of the actions that the USA had done led Ochs to distain from fighting anymore, but instead to preach for peace. Ochs does not know whether his choice is a good or bad decision, whether it is patriotic or not, but he doesn't car, he knows he will not march anymore.

Kairos of "I ain't Marching Anymore" by Phil Ochs

Written to display disdain towards the mindset of war, "I ain't Marching Anymore" recounts war events experienced by a soldier. The soldier having experienced war first hand is encouraging others with his expertise to not mindlessly "march" in war like he had, because even he has decided o no longer march. He also sings about the many lives he has taken, lives of friend, foe, and family, and it is the regret from all of the bloodshed that he is choosing to no longer participate. The song has a very important Kairos however. The part of the song in which it is described that the ones who start wars, the elders, the politicians, are not the ones fighting the war, and then goes on to ask if it is even worth it. This part of the song sums up most of the song, it describes the cycle of war, and questions if the benefits are worth the cost. It also goes on to ask people if everything we gain form war justifies the number of wars we have. This part of the song effectively challenges the listener to decide if they fall in line with those who are pro war, especially because this song is directed at the youth that would have to go fight the war that the elders started.

Kairos of "It's A Dark Day In Our Nation" by MLK

"It's a Dark Day In Our Nation" was delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. on August 30, 1967. It was a sermon at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. Giving the speech given the circumstances of the situation during the time period was very appropriate. The sermon was given during the peak of the Vietnam War, where many soldiers were risking their lives fighting in combat. Many people in America felt the war was unnecessary and frequently protested the war. Because of this, it was important that someone as well known as Martin Luther King would speak out and make a stand to call the government out for engaging in the war in the first place. In the speech, Martin Luther King shares his views about why he was so against the Vietnam War. He described the war as "unjust, evil, and futile." However, this can be an example of an anti-war act because he did not engage in any sort of violent behavior. Instead, he remained calm and composed while giving his speech. - Justin