A Call for Unity
In a nation that thrives on diversity, it has become more important than ever to maintain coherency. Being the country with the longest standing constitution, the United States holds a very special position in the world. Its fellow citizens-white or black, man or woman, gay or straight-are what serve as the foundation of this free republic. In his Inauguration Speech on January 21st, 2013, President Barack Obama spoke of the strength of the United States as derived from the unity of the American people. He further continues to convey a major point: that to maintain this prosperity requires continued perseverance, which can only be accomplished by a continued sense of togetherness across the nation. Through the use of a distinct
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Being the President of the most powerful nation on the planet and speaking to an audience that pervades international waters, it is not surprising that Mr. Obama gears away from the use of informal or conversational language. Especially crucial to note is the great length of the sentences. When speaking of equality in his 2013 Inauguration speech, the President states that “We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American; she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own” (Obama 11). Likewise, a few years earlier in 2009, Obama speaks of diversity and peace:
We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the
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It is important to note from the aforementioned quotes that President Obama extensively uses words like “we” that serve to bring listeners closer to him. He does not portray himself as an authoritative figure by saying “I, the President”; rather, Mr. Obama unifies the nation, the world, when he directly addresses his intimate collaboration with the people he serves. The United States together has “tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation,” and America together “must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace” (Obama 21). What the greatest country in the world has endured and surpassed is not the work of one single person, ergo the duty of maintaining its position as a superpower, as a tight-knit community, cannot and will not be the work of one single
He implements this emotional appeal into his speech to involve all Americans—people living in the United States of America, regardless of their ethnicity, race, or culture, and to acknowledge that the American people have endured this together, and that they will continue to advance after this event with stronger resolve, stronger than ever. In addition, he implements personification to motivate and empower the American people. “Our nation, this generation, will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future” (Bush, 2001). “This generation”, again a synonym for the American people, with its unwavering resolve, will fight for its freedom persistently. He intimates that the future of America and of democratic freedom is in the hands of the American people; that the American people have the power to control their fate.
President Obama’s Address to the nation was presented on January 5, 2016. His speech was shown on all of the major network stations. The main goal of his speech was to get the point across to the nation about the increasing problem of gun use. His speech really focused on the issue of gun control and if it would benefit the country. Overall, the biggest idea of his Address was that gun control is a large issue in the United States. The way to prevent deaths caused by firearms can be prevented in other ways than taking peoples guns away. The examples brought up in this Address really stood out to me. The use of personal, national, and global examples really made his speech stronger on the topic of effectiveness.
Barrack Obama’s inauguration speech successfully accomplished his goal by using rhetoric to ensure our nation that we will be under safe hands. The speech is similar from ideas obtained from the founding documents and Martin Luther King’s speech to establish ‘our’ goal to get together and take some action on the problems our country is now facing. As President Barrack Obama starts his speech, he keeps himself from using ‘me’, ‘myself’, and ‘I’ and replacing it with ‘we’, ‘us’, and ‘together’ to achieve ethos. He makes sure his audience connects with him directly by making them feel at his level, and him at theirs. This way he connects to the audience, and in exchange, helps his statement of unity. Using various examples of parallelism, anaphora and refrain, Obama brands the theme of equality and togetherness in our country throughout the speech, vital to gain the respect of his audience. Obama recalls the ‘enduring strength of the constitution’ by delving into the past alluding to America’s allegiance to the Declaration of Independence by quoting “we hold these truths… that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. This expression clearly shows more ethos by reminding us that the quote of equality is of great importance today as it was the time it was written.
I believe that there are many advantages to embracing the diversity America has within its borders. Members of different cultures within the borders of one nation can benefit from each other, for example, by learning more about themselves through their varieg...
Roy Peter Clark, author of “A More Perfect Union”: Why It Worked, takes a stance on President Barack Obama’s speech while analyzing it. President Barack Obama delivered a speech titled “A More Perfect Union.” His speech focused on the prominent issue of racism in America. In this article, Clark talks about President Obama’s known power and brilliance. Clark makes references and comparisons to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and W.EB. DuBois. “A More Perfect Union” features writing techniques that makes the message more defined and effective. President Obama utilizes four closely related rhetorical strategies. Clark broadly explains the purpose of the rhetorical strategies. Allusion, parallelism, two-ness, and autobiography helped to shape President Obama’s speech that that was meant to create
It was a brief speech that captivated a lot of matters that concern the American citizens exclusively and the world inclusively. He divided his speech into different sectors which are citizens’ sacrifice, the idea of service, adopting changes, promise of wealth, government harmony and dignity. The language used in the speech was flawless and applicable to the audience, who was the public, since he was using every day vocabulary. Therefore, the speech has a strong structure that can be easily understood by the majority of people. The audience typically will and was the American citizens, but since the United States has many international relationships, President Obama was trying to reach beyond the nationwide concerns and meet a mutual background....
In “A More Perfect Union”, Obama asked the audience to view themselves through the eyes of the others (Terrill 371). Instead of imposing a moral superiority of one side of the audience like Lincoln did or telling the audience to ignore the diversity, Obama asked the people to embrace their differences and acknowledge the others. In referring to the perspective of black people, he said, “A lack of economic opportunity among black men and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family contributed to the erosion of black families...” Meanwhile, to show how some white people might feel, he narrated, “...when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudice, resentment builds over time.” By juxtaposing two different perspectives, Obama tried to ask for agreement that people’s anxiety over racial problems is
Many would argue that President Obama is one of the most effective speakers in the decade. With his amazing speeches, he captivates his audience with his emotion and official tone.
The great melting and land of opportunities is unfortunately not perfect, big shocker. Trying to unify different cultures and diverse views are not easy tasks, especially when deep hatreds trigger violence. Achieving groups and individuals across the United States attempt to deal with diversity issues that crop up daily in schools, neighborhoods, families, at work, courts and many other institutions and situations.
Obama goes on to say “We cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together.” He believes that this is the time to change, and a new generation governed by racial minorities. Obama support these claims by reiterating his own beliefs and those of the American nation. “I would not be running for President...
It is hard to believe that after electing a minority president, the United States of America can still be seen as a vastly discriminatory society. A question was posed recently after a viewing of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream…” speech of whether his dream has become a reality. After consideration, a majority of the viewers said no. Although many steps have been taken to improve racial equality in America, there is still no way to legislate tolerance. Dr. King’s message of equality for all has been lost in a black and white struggle over the taken meaning of his context. Until our society can allow all people to live in peace we will never truly achieve King’s dream. Case in point, referring to President Obama as our "our First Black President" should not be considered a statement of pride over how far we have come. Placing this racial qualifier, even in a positive light, only serves to point out his minority status, not the fact that he is the President of the United States. According to Dr. King's dream, a man or woman, black or white, would be viewed as President without qualifying their differences from mainstream America.
“A More Perfect Union” was delivered by Barack Obama on March 18, 2008. At the time her gave the speech he was senator and running in the president election. Obama responded to his former pastor Jeremiah Wright, and also discussed the issue with race in America. This problem is important to us as a whole, because we went through plenty of racism in the past. He wants the prevent those incidents from according again. He did an excellent job using rhetoric tools to support his beliefs, which led to a successful election.
In his opening lines Obama shows his compassion for the victims and mourners of the shooting stating: “I have come here tonight as an American who, like all Americans, kneels to pray with you today, and will stand by you tomorrow.” With just this short statement Obama aligns himself with the American people, showing his empathy and comforting the people by saying “I will be here for you.” This allows him to form a connection with his audience, which he further reinforces though his use of the term “we” when addressing the American population: “We mourn with you for the fallen. “We join you in your grief.” He also draws parallels between the nation’s mourning following the shooting and the mourning that comes with losing a family member...
The Obama’s are high in social, collective, emotional, structural and task cohesion. The main reason why they are high in all these types of cohesion is because they are a small, close group bonded by family relationships. This helps them when it comes to identifying as an influential group. They are high in social cohesion because within their group they have attraction between each member as most families do. Also due to their elite social status as the presidential family society as a whole is attracted to them and everything they do. The Obama’s are high in collective cohesion as each member of the group individually feels a sense of belonging and serves a purpose to the group. The family always identifies as a family and for the past decade has maintained this identity as the presidential family. The Obama’s are also high in emotional cohesion as they represent positive moral values and behave as a united front. The family has always represented strong family values and each member of the family behaves in a way that reflects these values at all times. The Obama’s are high in structural cohesion as they are a closed group consisting of only family members, therefore the group structure cannot be changed. The Obama’s are high in task cohesion as they share a commitment to the same goal. We believe the Obama’s main goal is to be a positive representation of an American family. The family has been committed to this goal for eight years and has never wavered. The family has never surrounded themselves in negative controversy regarding their family and how they behave as a family unit. Another reason why we chose the Obama’s as the best group of the last decade is because they are high in collective efficacy. The Obama’s prove to be high in collective efficacy by using their title and resources to respond to the American
The United States of America supposedly encompasses resilience and advocates equality. Apparently, the United States of America abides for progress on racial discrimination and understands, accepts, and respects all races. But in reality we are not united with all races; thus we just make up America, not the United States of America. President Barack Obama affirms, “....there is not a black America and a white America and latino America and asian America - there's the United States of America” (Obama). In pursuance to evolve into the United States of America, as opposed to a disembodied one, we need to act like the unrestricted, free willing, and affirmative country that we say we are.