Barack Obama uses logic
to defend his ideas in “A More Perfect Union” by incorporating pieces of
history such as the preamble, Jim Crow laws, the Brown v. Board of Education
court case, the O.J. trail and more. These references show that we as Americans
have recognized an issue of racism, but have not made the necessary effort to
fix it completely. His ideas show that there are still issues present today and
that we need people who are willing to do their part through protest and
struggle to create a better life for future generations in such a diverse
country. Obama’s use of specific instances in history clearly support his
ideas. He also uses personal experiences and Ashley Baia’s story to push his
ideas even further, on a more personal level. He wants unity in America. He
wants all people regardless of their skin color to come together and live in
equality.
Obama’s speech has a
good intention and clearly contains beneficial ideas. He makes a connection
with his audience by sharing personal stories from his life and how he really
feels. Although most people will support him more because of this personal
connection, it might be seen as a weakness as well. He talks a lot about the
church and Reverend White and non-religious or non-Christians might not take
his speech as seriously because they do not share the same beliefs. He also
talks about white people’s unearned privileges and talks mostly about how
blacks deserve better treatment. This could give some white people the wrong
idea and make them feel like they are being attacked because nobody wants to
think that their privileges are unearned. Other non-black minorities are
mentioned, but not nearly as much, and they might feel like they are being left
out or under-represented. Although I do not have any of these feelings while
reading Obama’s speech, I know there are people in this country who would.
Destiny, I agree with your statement about how non-Christians might not feel a connection to his speech. That is how I felt when reading it, especially when he quoted his book and explained how he felt while sitting in church during a sermon by Reverend White. However, the United States is still said to be a "Christian nation," so by being a non-Christian, I am in the minority. I thought Obama's speech was extremely brave and honest. Although, like you mentioned, speaking about unearned white privilege may make people uncomfortable, Obama knew it was something important to discuss. I thought a major theme of his speech was bringing America's racism back into our dialogue. He took risks with this speech, I respect that.
ReplyDeleteBarack Obama does provide a very compelling argument in his speech “A More Perfect Union”. As mentioned, provides us with a lot of historical pieces such as Jim Crow laws, famous court cases, and ideas formed by our founding fathers. These help to compare and contrast society today with the past and show where Obama is getting his reasoning. Another strong point of his argument is that it is clear what is motivating this speech. Again and again he refers back to what is driving this speech and what bringing out his ideas, which in turn makes his ideas sound more logical. His strong point in the essay is not his use of logic however, but his use of emotions and credibility. He uses personal stories and examples to connect with the audience. Because he gives us personal information about himself, we as the audience not only connect with him, but also see him as one who is capable to speech on such a subject because of his background and where he comes from. However, what Obama fails to do in this argument that weakens it, is really explain why or how unity in America is going to make anything better for anyone. It is clear that this is his idea, but he stops it there. He does say that we will be able to focus on education, and healthcare, and such, but does not directly stay how unity will lead to those. By taking it further and digging in to how America would benefit from this unity would make Obama’s ideas seem more thought out and logical.
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