The State of the Union Address and Ritual Communication

Another mood that is conveyed through the ceremony is one of cooperation. This mood is observed through the unification of not only both houses of Congress but also through the millions of Americans that tune in the address on various media outlets; this collective action of coming together serves to unify, if only for a brief time, America and impart a feeling of cooperation between the people in government and the common American. Verbiage used in the address can also serve to strengthen this feeling of cooperation, as the terms “we” and “our” are constantly used, reminding us that we should all work together because we all share the same fate as a nation. This is perhaps the most important mood conveyed by the address, as it serves to remind the politicians and the people that no matter what may be occurring either inside or outside of our borders, we are still all together in the efforts of the United States. Through this spirit of unity, we can refocus our collective energies and set new goals together; that is why I think that the mood of unity is perhaps the most important of all the ritual communication conveyed in the ceremony. It keeps us focused as a nation.

In order to effectively communicate anything, there must be a clear idea that needs to be transferred from one group to another. A key idea communicated by the State of the Union, is of confrontation. Not confrontation in the hostile sense, but rather in the sense that the chief executive is confronting those who consent to his position, much like a CEO going before a board of directors to keep them abreast of the current state of business affairs. In this idea of confrontation, we can infer that by taking the time to address the American people, the president owes “we the people, of the United States” an explanation and to some degree a justification for the current state of the United States.

Also being communicated by the address is an idea of accountability; by having a solitary speaker give the address, the people have an idea of whom to hold accountable for the state of their nation. This idea of one person being accountable that is conveyed threw the State of the Union address, is evidenced in the ways in which we as citizens criticize our leaders. The vast majority of citizens are conditioned to place most or all of the credit or blame for whatever action, squarely on the shoulders of the president. It has been ingrained in us to look at the office this way; and seeing the lone speaker in front of the nation has fostered that idea and given it legitimacy. This act of a lone speaker coming out to face the nation he governs, gives us the idea of a supreme leader, an end-all-be-all so to speak, and emulates an old English tradition in which the Crown addresses Parliament, reminding us of the government from which we came.

Many facets of the United States government use ritual communication to convey ideas, motivations, and moods to the people of America and the world, but none are perhaps as significant as those communicated in the annual State of the Union address. These unspoken traditions and rituals that make up the address are sometimes more important than the actual words being spoken, as they serve to remind us not only of the style of government from which we arose but also of the key principle of American democracy, unity and communication.