Inaugural Address of Barack Obama - Essay Example

Inaugural Address of Barack Obama, an Analysis “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.”—Barack Obama1 This is the creed that pretty much represented the bulk of Obama’s inaugural address last year both in content and in the structure of his speech. It was the interplay of using emotionally charged words to appeal to human sentiments and logic; of using historical facts and current situation of the country to reaffirm these sentiments and find common ground amidst the diversity of people and culture that America is home to; and tapping into his credibility through awareness of the current situation of the country and his well-rounded knowledge in politics, history, economics, and social issues to tie together these sentiments and social reality and providing the core values to effectively address these national concerns. Barack Obama’s inaugural address was able to successfully address the emotional, logical, and character needs of the American audience. Ethos The most successful use of addressing the emotional needs of the American audience was the clever interplay of words. The way he also appealed to the audience’s emotion and logic was a combination of arguments, evidences, and language. The use of such emotion-generating phrases like “gathering clouds and ranging storms”, “noble ideas”, “the greatness of our nation”, and “bitter swill of civil war and segregation”[Oba09] in his speech are consistently, effectively, and cleverly infused throughout the various subjects that he was discussing that his attempt to persuade his audience by tapping to their emotions was prevalent throughout the speech that it blended so well it sounded natural. Moreover, the prudent usages of such phrases are not abused in the sense that Obama relies solely on them. Rather he used it as a way to simplify the concepts he was trying to address in a manner that the average American could understand. Obama’s emotional appeal was an appeal for solidarity, acceptance, loyalty, and most of all patriotism in spite of the diversity of the American people by reiterating the commonalities and shared experiences. Shared social struggles throughout history of Americans as a people of migrants and how these struggles are continuing today for current migrants who “toiled on sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth” [Oba09] and shared economic burden that Americans are experiencing across all walks of life in almost all business sectors. These commonalities are highlighted in an attempt to forge cooperation through shared experiences, shared history, shared sentiments, shared values, and common vision. Furthermore, the appeals to emotions are done in such a manner that it does not refute any logical truth but rather reaffirms it making it more believable. And more importantly, it was able to successfully elicit the emotion that it wanted—trust in the government, hope that America would get through the current crisis, solidarity despite differences, renewed sense of patriotism, tolerance, and compassion. After all, what made America great were its core values. It was these same core values that the founding fathers used to build a great nation and it is the same core values that Obama is tapping into to address the current situations. Logos The substance of Obama’s address could also be traced on his use of arguments and providing relevant facts and example to back up his claims. For instance, when he argued that the US is a great nation but that its greatness was not a given but a process of collective ambitions that have worked together to achieve mutual goals; he cited as examples the contributions of the people in history who “packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life”; of people who “fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn” [Oba09]. In a way Obama is looking back at the lessons of history and how much Americans can learn from these lessons in addressing the current problems faced by every Americans today. The reference to history in his speech to reaffirm his points was very relevant and timely because it is something that all Americans are proud of and could readily relate to. It is also this same ideals that would, as Obama aimed to, be the core principles and values that the people would carry on in the future as a way of continuing the legacy of greatness. Because there were a lot of social concerns and issues to address, Obama did not delve much deeper into details though he was very specific and constant in addressing some pressing issues—environmental concerns, religion, health care, alternative sources of energy, education, military and security, immigration, cultural diversity, diplomatic relations, and economy [Oba09]. The continuity of addressing these pressing matters makes good common sense because it is at the forefront of tackling the root causes of the social problems. Addressing various view points, providing alternatives, and suggesting the course of actions makes Obama’s arguments well-rounded and convincing enough. Take for instance the issue of diplomatic relations and religion as it involves the matters of military and security to which the former administration was badly criticized for. He tackles this by stating: To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West--know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.2 Ethos Lastly, Obama was credible in his speech because he exude the impression of someone who is well-knowledgeable in both history and politics of the United States which he maximized in his speech. It is this knowledge of sociological issues and putting historical contexts into perspective that he was able to firmly establish his credibility. Another way he does so was his choice of language. He refrained from using jargons and highfaluting words to give the impression that he was scholarly intellectual but instead opted to be more direct and use simple language and simple sentence structures. This was very effective because he was able to reach out to the general populace—both the academe people and the lay persons were able to grasp his points. He was also fair and balance in looking into and providing solutions and alternative actions to current issues. He does so by providing the pros and cons; addressing the different viewpoints opposite to him; and by remaining committed in promoting the core values as solution to these problems. For instance, diplomatic relations is both a responsibility and privileged that the country has. As such, Obama emphasized that the world could no longer afford to be indifferent. That it would work along side poor nations to provide assistance and calls for other nations of ‘plenty’, like the US, to not be callous to the needs of the people around the world emphasizing that “Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends—honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism—these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths.” He further emphasized that it is not only a responsibility that the government must be burdened of but is the duty of the American people to themselves, to the nation, and to the world; duties that must be accepted open-heartedly and not with reluctance because it is these truths that builds and defends the character of the people in responding to difficult tasks [Oba09]. Conclusion Barack Obama’s inaugural address was able to successfully address the emotional, logical, and character needs of his audience. He was consistent with his claims that the core values of the American people that had helped build a great nation then is the same principles that must be employed in addressing social and global issues now. His explanations in addressing these concerns maintains consistency and revolves around the use of appeal to emotions enveloped in logical arguments fortified by hard, factual evidences. Works Cited Oba09: , (Obama, We Seek A New Way Forward), Oba09: , (Obama, We Seek A New Way Forward), Read More