One propagandistic fallacy is the use of glittering generalities. A good example of glittering generalities and many other propagandistic fallacies occur in President Bush’s "State of the Union Address", delivered to Congress on January 28, 2003. The Institute for Propagand

a Analysis explains that glittering generalities "is a device to make us accept and approve without examining the evidence" (158). Bush uses these glittering generalities without hesitation. For example, he claims that we will win the war in Iraq "by the strength of great alliances and by the might of the United States of America." But, what exactly is the "might" of the United States of America? The "might" of people who fire bombs and guns? Bush also says, "sometimes peace must be defended" (16). It would be nice to have a bodyguard for America, but unfortunately what he is trying to say is that we need to go to war. Bush also claims that we have worked harder to "track and disrupt the terrorists" (12). So, is Bush really trying to say that we have been out hunting and killing people? Who are these "terrorists"? We do not know because what he says is so vague.

If everyone were to listen to what President Bush says we might feel better about ourselves, but we might also be fighting in a different country, or even dead. Every day millions of Americans watch television, listen to the radio and read magazines. The future of the country relies on what the President says and does, along with how the American people react. The President is there to guide us, but how can we trust him when he uses unsafe language? We need to remind ourselves that we cannot always believe what we read or hear. Thinking is critical to everyday life. By accepting everything we see or hear we will no longer be thinking critically and just jump on the bandwagon, no matter what the cost.

In addition to using glittering generalities, Bush also uses card stacking, which the Institute for Propaganda Analysis tells us "is a device in which the propagandist employs all the arts of deception to win our support for himself, his group, nation, race, policy, practice, belief, or ideal. He stacks the cards against the truth" (160). Bush uses this by speaking of Saddam Hussein and

Some topics in this essay:
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