Critique of a Political Speech of Barack Obama - Essay Example

 The election of Barack Obama to the Presidency of the United States stands as a greatly significant and meaningful moment for contemporary America. His inaugural speech given on January 21st 2009 reads as a missive to all Americans and contains within it the classically American mélange of Christian-style preaching and the Enlightenment era ideas so important to the country’s heritage: life, liberty, and equality. As he spoke, Obama did so as the country’s first-elected black President and yet he spoke as if he were addressing all Americans and not just a select group of them. With respect to our course, I believe that Obama’s speech touches upon, among other things, key elements of Americana which appertain to its heritage, its self-imagery, and its Universalist claims of equality and liberty for all. In doing so, Obama employs pathos, ethos, and logos interchangeably so as to endow his words with the power that they have. It is debatable which of the three forms of rhetorical appeal are most effective to begin a speech. Each, depending on circumstance, can serve to capture the attention of the audience. Obama opts for a blend of pathos and ethos. He opens with “My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you've bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors (Obama 2009). The pathos of self-imposed modesty and ‘trust’ easily transitions to the ethos of ‘ancestors.’ ‘Ancestors’ begins an appeal to the ethos of the American Republic and its ideals. He manages the transition well as he then refers to an America which …has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we, the people, have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears and true to our founding documents. / So it has been; so it must be with this generation of Americans. (Obama 2009) This blending of pathos and ethos is quite effective. Without yet having to employ the limited tool of logos, Obama is able to allude to an historical nation and the sentiments of its people. Logic and consistency might demand that one point out that in fact America has not always held true to its ‘founding documents,’ the existence of slavery for many years, the mistreatment of the Native American, and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War Two being but some notable examples to the contrary. But this is rhetoric, not reality. The brief sojourn into ethos is then temporarily abandoned for a return to pathos. What other recent event, scored into the memory of every American, has the ability to evoke an emotional response without fail: September 11, 2001 of course. The other sources of emotional upheaval at the moment (in 2009 and now) is the ongoing global economic crisis and to a lesser extent, environmental degradation and healthcare. Obama makes use of all three. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some….Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many -- and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. (Obama 2009) It is interesting that a man who is facing a crisis as serious as that faced by FDR generations prior, appeals to the sense of unease and fear that many hold. Apparently, we have more to fear ‘than fear itself.’ International terrorism, failing economy, and an inefficient healthcare system are things to worry about. This is pure and unbridled pathos. But in the end, Obama’s talent for speaking remains unblemished as he, after making appeals to fear-based concerns, reassures his audience, in true Rooseveltian fashion, that “we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord” (Obama 2009). He skillfully offers a remedy to each ill that he outlines. These fears are resolved by a return to normalcy and ‘hope.’ The resolution to these fears is expressed not with pathos alone but with a return to ethos. But in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. Despite its brevity, this passage in some ways contains within it all the ingredients of an effective speech in modern-day American politics, for with respect to rhetoric, the inclination to appeal to God and the Scriptures is pure ethos. They form a canon of thought, are an important part of the Western tradition, and surely hold great authority for many a person. The strategy is effective. America, if anything, has always relished the opportunity to recall the influence of the Judeo-Christian tradition on its founding and its institutions. America may be a relatively young country but the Christian tradition is over two millennia in the making. Obama is surely not the first to make use of this tendency. To combat the unjustness of Jim Crow, segregation, and the general unequal treatment of African Americans, Martin Luther King echoes the thought of St. Augustine when in his ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail,’ he writes: The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.” (King 1963) The reliance upon ancient tradition and wisdom lends credence and authority to King’s letter. Obama, drawing inspiration from King, seeks to ‘reaffirm’ the struggle to bring the promise of equality before the law and liberty for all today. This would seem to be standard ethos and it largely is. Drawing upon both the country’s Christian heritage and its Enlightenment founding is almost par for the course in American political rhetoric. Obama follows in King’s footsteps in this sense. Obama does make use of logos but mostly to back up the claims he has already made with the other forms of rhetorical appeal. Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage. (Obama 2011) Obama presciently reminds his audience that the challenges America faces are not new, at least not completely. The country has in the past faced similar adversity and came out ahead. This reasoned appeal refers to historical facts and not historical institutions or traditions and is thus much more logos-based. Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint. (Obama 2011) Obama has long extolled a foreign policy based upon both classical realpolitik and Wilsonian idealism. He uses logic to point out that brute force alone cannot win all the country’s battles. This is in some ways just plain old-fashioned common sense. Say what one will about how effective Obama has been since he acceded to higher office, one thing is for sure: he is a quintessentially American political rhetorician. Using measured appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos, he shows that he is able to engage any audience. Drawing upon Christ, the Founding Fathers, Roosevelt, and even King, Obama carries on a long tradition of meaningful political speech. Works Cited King Jr., Martin Luther. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” 16 April 1963. African Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania. 7 April 2010 http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html Obama, Barack. “President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address.” 21 January 2009. White House Blog. Retrieved 9/16/2011 http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/inaugural-address/ Read More