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. .
Bush distracts us from asking these critical questions by stroking our egos by using another form of glittering generalities. This is when someone uses words that trigger certain emotions and makes an audience feel better than they might otherwise, that someone is just catering to the audience's egos. Bush does this many times in his speech. For instance, he uses words like "brave Americans", "strong nation", and "free people". Bush also states that "America is a strong nation and honorable in the use of our strength" (16). Bush seems to be stroking our egos so we do not question if we are honorable or not. He wants us to just assume we are because he says it. When Bush happens to say, "Americans are a resolute people, who have risen to every test of our time" (16), he is definitely trying to stroke our egos and not telling us all of the facts. For one, Americans have been through acts of war and survived, but in our Civil War half of Americans lost. In addition, America has not been a country for much more than 200 years, so we have not had much time to be tested. We may have survived, as peple, what has been dealt to us, but every day that passes is probably a day closer to the end of this free nation. But we love to hear that we have done so well, and will continue to do so until the end of time. Bush tells us that we are such a "strong nation" that nothing has or can harm us. As much as we would all like that to be true, we are not an indestructible nation. Although our fears should not guide us, neither should our hyped up egos. .
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.