Language and Power

  The text is a speech written for preparation in case the moon landing in 1969 failed and the astronauts could not return to earth to be delivered by the current President Nixon to the American population. The speech was written by William Safire for Nixon with the intention of him having the upper hand in the power imbalance between him and the audience.

  The speech uses imperatives to give the speaker power. This is seen when it says that there is ‘no hope of [the astronaut’s] return’. By saying this with absolute certainty, the speaker is giving the impression that everything in his power has been done to bring them back, neutralising any potential claims that there is anything that can be done to save them. This makes the audience feel powerless in the situation, trusting that the more powerful participant - the speaker - is right in what he says.

  The text uses repetition when saying that the man went to ‘explore in peace’ and now will ‘rest in peace’. By repeating the word ‘peace’ the speaker is trying to manipulate the feelings of the audience, trying to minimise the chance of anyone reacting in anger through calming language. The repetition furthers this effect and brings a connection between their mission and their demise, implying that they knew the risks from the start and carried on anyway.

  There is an extended metaphor throughout the text that Armstrong and Aldrin sacrificed themselves for the good of mankind. This is stated several times throughout the speech; ‘These two men are laying down their lives in mankind's most noble goal’ ‘in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.’ This is another example of how the less powerful participant (the audience) is being made to think a certain way. The speaker wants them to view the poor lost souls as heroes making the choice to give their lives for the furthering of our knowledge of space and everything in general. This takes the focus away from the fact that it was actually the inadequacies of the space program to bring them back, discouraging anyone from bringing this up or protesting any future expeditions.

This whole speech seems to have the intention of shifting blame away from NASA and onto the universe and fate, for being so cruel to these heroes. This is taking to almost ridiculous lengths when it says that ‘Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.’ This may seem like taking it a little bit too far, but in context with the entire world watching this event, it would have been important to emphasise the tragedy of what happened and not point out any faults with America’s space program.

The text draws a comparison between the doomed astronauts and ancient peoples Gods, saying that they are now where they saw their heroes ‘in the constellations’, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin are now as ‘epic men of flesh and blood’. This implies that they have transcended the world of man to live among gods, forever remembered in their sacrifice, rather than men left to die in the cold emptiness of space.