The Answer, My Friend...

rhetoric

noun | rhet-o-ric | \'re-te-rik\

   : language that is intended to influence people and that may not be honest or reasonable

   : the art or skill of speaking or writing formally and effectively especially as a way to persuade or          influence people

The previous text was taken from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. When looking up the word 'rhetoric', these definitions will commonly be found. Rhetoric is found scattered throughout our daily lives and in order understand the concept, we must first understand the word. In the first definition that we're given ends with, "may not be honest or reasonable." That phrase can easily be burned in our minds with little hope of moving past it or viewing rhetoric from a different angle; however, if you continue to move further down the Merriam-Webster webpage you'll find a different definition that will aid us in taking a different view on rhetoric.


Full Definition of RHETORIC

1   : the art of speaking or writing effectively: as

     a : the study of principles and rules of composition formulated by critics of ancient times

     b : the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion


The Merriam-Webster webpage continues with two additional definitions as well as examples of rhetoric but this as far as we need to read in order to gain a different perspective of rhetoric. The study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion. If we're looking at rhetoric as a means of communication through either writing or speaking, our view of rhetoric has changed significantly from when we associated it with the words dishonest and unreasonable. On a regular basis we are taking in pieces of communication through written words and spoken language. One of these forms of communication is through the music we hear.

In 1962, singer-songwriter Bob Dylan wrote the now-famous tune, "Blowing In The Wind." Since then countless musicians have done their own covers of the song. While the order of the verses may vary as you listen to different versions, you'll still feel the weight that each verse carries as we're asked to examine peace, war, and freedom.

Bob Dylan 1962

"There ain't too much I can say about this song except that the answer is blowing in the wind. It ain't in no book or movie or TV show or discussion group. Man, it's in the wind-- and it's blowing in the wind. Too many of these hip people are telling me where the answer is but oh I won't believe that. I still say it's in the wind and just like a restless piece of paper it's got to come down sometime. But the only trouble is that no one picks up the answer when it comes down so not too many people get to see and know it... and then it flies away again.... I still say that some of the biggest criminals are those that turn their heads away when they see wrong and know it's wrong. I'm only 21 years old and I know that there's been too many wars... You people over 21 should know better. The first way to answer these questions in the song is by asking them. But lots of people have to first find the wind." -Bob Dylan

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?

How many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind

How many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
How many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?

How many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?
They answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind

How many times must a man look up 
Before he can see the sky?
How many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?

How many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind


The rhetoric found in this song does much to shed light on what was happening in America during the time that it was written. By the time that 1962 rolled around, the Vietnam War had already been going on for seven years, and though no one knew it at the time, it would last for another thirteen years. At the conclusion of the Vietnam War the toll on America was staggering as a total of 58,209 soldiers were killed and an additional 153,303 were wounded. Still another 1,643 soldiers were reported as missing in action.


At this time, the Civil Rights Movement was also in full-swing. 1954 brought an end to racial segregation in the education system on a state level in the Brown v. Board of Education court case, but it wasn't until 1964 that the Civil Rights Act ended all state and local laws that required segregation. Even after the Civil Rights Act legally ended segregation, it did not immediately wipe out the problem of racism in the United States.


Understanding the emotions that were being felt in the United States as war raged on over seas as well as in our own backyard will put the lyrics in this song in a new emotional dimension. Admittedly, the original Bob Dylan version of "Blowing in the Wind" is not my first choice for this particular song. While I find the Peter, Paul, and Mary version to be pleasant along with the version recorded by The Seekers; however, my favorite version of this song is the 1963 recording of Sam Cooke performing the song.





In 1963, one year after "Blowing in the Wind" was penned, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous I Have a Dream speech. While Bob Dylan's song asks us many challenging questions that don't necessarily have a straightforward answer; however, Dr. King brings forward many important thoughts in his speech that point us in the right direction for answering those tough questions.

Martin Luther King Jr. 1963

"And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

Dr. King acknowledges the plethora of hardships that must be faced before presenting a piece of The Declaration of Independence to us. All men are created equal. While Dr. King presents only a small piece of this important document that was written by our forefathers in 1776, if you continue reading this portion of the document it will state that, "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Bob Dylan asks us, "how many years can some people exist before they're allowed to be free?" while Dr. King reminds us that, "all men are created equal."

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

In this powerful statement, Dr. King reminds us that even children have been victimized by the cruel effects of racism. It is a chilling reminder that people, let alone children, have been judged based on skin color rather than their character. "I have a dream." Dr. King repeats this phrase multiple times in his speech and based on the estimated 250,000 people who attended his speech at the March for Civil Rights in Washington, D.C., he wasn't the only one with a dream for a better future.





Rhetoric is part of our daily lives and its influence is visible. Many protests songs were written and sung during the Civil Rights Movement as well as during the Vietnam War. "Blowing In The Wind" is only one example of a person using rhetoric in a song to both voice their own thoughts on a topic and try to influence others towards a different way of thought. We must listen to the rhetoric that we're surrounded by daily so that we can better understand those around us.

"And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all  of God's children, black men and white men, Jew and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

 -Martin Luther King Jr.