Rhetorical Analysis of “No Lives Matter” Essay Sample

How did America get to where it is today? How do its citizens have such deep hatred for one another for seemingly no rational reason? These are questions that most people with esteemed privileges in America have asked themselves today. The rest of Americans know the answers because they have lived them. Many people are standing up to and talking about the issues in America today, some of whom are songwriters. I chose the song “No Lives Matter” by Tom MacDonald to write about. His song talks about some of the political happenings in America today and how crazy circumstances have been these past few years especially. His audience is the people of and living in America, entailing people from every political side and belief since he touches on both sides of the political spectrum quite often. I believe he is right in saying Americans are so wrapped up in what they believe, and because everyone believes themselves to be correct, all we are doing is hurting each other and change will not come if we continue in the direction we are traveling.

MacDonald’s message is unique from the ones a person typically hears in the news and in society. Because of government inequality and injustice against people of different ethnic groups and beliefs, and because of widespread messages of hate, there are constant skirmishes between people of either side that are not entirely necessary. One lyric states, “The viruses, riots, and racist conditions ain't problems, they're symptoms of life in this system.” There are several underlying systems in America; ones where the elites rule, ones that circle around violence, ones that intertwine and tangle elaborately, and the worse ones being ones that thrive because of fear. Fear is most often the basis for most things since humans consistently respond negatively to others because of a specific fear or fears. Oftentimes, these other systems are an extension of that fear in humans. Fears of the unknown, or of things or people that are different from oneself, are the most prevalent of fears. 

MacDonald wrote this line in his song to show that while there are problems in our society that we need to fix, the answer is not hating and fighting each other. He wants to tell people that we need to come together if we want any hope of helping our society become a better, safer place. His message matters because it is important to see that we as Americans are doing more harm than good to each other. The consistent butting of heads in place of attempting to understand each other and our struggles persist in hindering the American people from peace and coexistence. Continuing down this road will only lead to more hatred and violence in the future. It was no problem deciphering the message MacDonald was describing, mostly because of the delivery and organization of his song.

The genre in which MacDonald sings is rap, and he follows a typical rhyming scheme for each segment of his song. He does not go particularly fast in the rhythm and style of this song, so the listener can hear and understand everything being said. His delivery of rhymes usually follows the AAAA pattern or the AABB pattern, depending on the segment. Overall, this makes it extremely painless to comprehend what is being said. This helps the listener in discerning for themselves the meaning of the lyrics to themselves instead of trying to see what MacDonald was saying because he was going too fast. He used all of the three modes of persuasion extremely accurately. However, he seemed to focus more on ethos throughout most of his song. Since MacDonald does not go extremely fast in his music, it is much easier to focus on all the colorful language happening in his song. 

MacDonald is not afraid to tell the facts like they are, even if they are hard or hurtful to hear. He is constantly stating the facts, the good, the bad, and the ugly, about radical opinions in America. For example, in his song, MacDonald states, “The music we bump, all about shooting guns and doing drugs.” Most, if not all, of the music young adults and adults in general, listen to includes some form of drug usage or even gun violence, which leads back to why this song matters. The circle, resulting from the underlying systems in America, of hate and violence just seems to continue with no hope to stop, with no help from the music industry. This is just one example of one of the several arguments he makes. 

MacDonald is also not shy about using extremely colorful language. An example of this would be when he said, “It's all controlled by the elites, put fake news all over our screens, convincing the right to go fight with the left and distract from the fact it's each other we need.” The rhyming scheme and the way MacDonald has arranged his lyrics make the words easy to roll off the tongue and come alive in one’s mind. Because of the influence the media has on Americans today, most of us are not unified and would rather fight everyone who has a difference of opinion. This again circles back to why his message from this song is extremely important. If the American people would just set their differences aside and come together as a nation, amazing things could happen. However, many Americans will have to overcome their fear of the unknown to put down the barriers they have set, whether consciously or not, to accept those who are not as similar as the rest. 

American society today is failing as a whole. With all the riots, hatred, and fear happening in society, it is hard to find much hope for our nation moving forward. I am inclined to agree with McDonald’s messages because of what I have seen and experienced in America. Because of whom I am and the family I was born into, I have not had to experience many of the hardships that some Americans face today. However, from what I have seen either in person or on the news, I can see the conflicts happening because of misunderstandings. This makes it easy for me to understand and agree with McDonald’s messages. Many think that the battle is too hard, that the ideals of fear and abhorrence are too deeply ingrained. Ultimately, though, the positive result is worth it. It will take time, trust, and acceptance, but with small steps forward, we can bring our society back to a place of harmony and peace.