President Barack Obama as a speaker, discussing his content and delivery style - Essay Example

As a public speaker, President Obama delivers his speeches in a confident and eloquent style, and tends to get direct to the point. His style of presentation also tends to include a background of the subject which he is about to discuss. Discriminations of many kinds are common in the United States, and these include racism, religious discrimination, ableism, sexism, and ageism. President Obama has addressed all of these forms of discrimination in his speeches in an attempt to eradicate or reduce them in the United States of America.

Ageism is the intolerance and labeling of people because of their age, and it is mostly committed in opposition to people who are older. Ageism is a set of beliefs that enable people to justify prejudices based on age, its use being either casual or systematic. This form of discrimination is increasingly becoming common especially against elderly people. There is an increasing belief that the older people, or the elderly, are past their prime and that they cannot function well in society. In fact, it is said that these people have become useless to society and should therefore, not be shown any form of respect by the younger generation.

President Obama has in his speech and in support of universal healthcare indirectly come in support of the elderly. In essence, his belief in universal healthcare has shown that he does not believe in ageism and, in fact, values all the people in society.Racism is the belief that Man is divided into various groups known as races and that such groups bear certain characteristics, which make them either superior or inferior. Racism is one of the most predominant forms of discrimination today, and it is experienced by people in all occupations.

President Obama, in many of his speeches on racism, the most notable being the one to the NAACP, states that America has come a long way in fighting against racial discrimination. However, he also states that the fight against it in American society is not over and that it is likely to go on well into the future (Thompson and Thompson).Religious discrimination is the treatment of certain people in a different way because of their spiritual beliefs. This is usually done most especially against those people who belong to either a different religion, or a different denomination.

Those who adhere to different religions are usually discriminated against in such cases as legal proceedings, or when attempting to get employment. One of the people who tend to face religious discrimination in the Western world is Muslims. This is because of the stereotyping of all Muslims as being religious fanatics who commit atrocities in the name of religion. In President Obama’s speeches, there has been some mention of the ending of religious discrimination of the United States, although this has not come out as strongly as when he is talking about other forms of discrimination (Targeted News Service).

Heterosexism is a form of discrimination that is displayed against those persons who are attracted to others of the same sex. It takes place in every part of society, especially in public life where it is exceedingly difficult to find a person who is gay participating. However, President Obama has shown his support for the gay community in his speeches, calling for an end to all forms of discrimination based on sexual preferences. His speeches, from the very beginning, have shown a strong support for the gay community and this has helped an immense deal in ending discrimination against them.

Sexism is the discrimination that is displayed based on gender and is used frequently on social roles that have been given to different genders. Since taking office, President Obama has been a vocal advocate for the ending of gender discrimination. In fact, in most of his speeches on the subject, he often uses his daughters as examples, and it can be said that he is stressing his support for gender balance in society through them.Works Cited"ADL Calls on President Obama to Clarify Policy on Discrimination in Faith-Based Program.

" Targeted News Service Aug 03 2011. Print Thompson, Krissah and Thompson, Cheryl W. "Obama Speaks of Blacks Struggle; Disparities Remain, He Says to NAACP.” The Washington Post: A.1. Jul 17 2009. Print.