Obama, “A More Perfect Union"

Introduction

U.S. President Barack Obama gane a "A More Perfect Union", in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008, after the news broadcast, that the Reverend Wright (his then pastor), spoke insultingly of the United States. Responding to a controversy that threatened his quest for the presidency, Barack Obama delivered a speech many consider being one of the greatest ever given on the topic of race. The speech, “A More Perfect Union”, was delivered on March 18, 2008, at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Response was largely positive, drawing comparisons to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech (Märten 48).Discussion

Obama addresses the issue of racial tension in the United States and seeks to give context to Wright's statements in his speech. To begin, he quotes the section of the Preamble to the constitution after which the speech has been named, “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.” Pointing out the proximity to Independence Hall, where the Constitution was signed, he claims slavery and legalized discrimination in the American history past conflict with the constitutional ideals of liberty, justice, and equal citizenship under the law (Wilson 66). To atone for these “sins,” he argues that American people can perfect their country by setting aside individual differences and uniting against shared social problems (ibid).

Among these social problems, Obama reveals, is deep-seated anger in black communities, which he attributes to the lasting effects of discrimination (Wilson 74). He also holds there is resentment by white immigrants who did not perpetuate black-white racial tensions in the past, but receive blame because of their skin color. Though he acknowledges the legitimacy of these angers, stating they have shaped modern politics, he cautions that harboring such feelings may detract from the goal of unity.

Appealing to the American motto, “E Pluribus Unum,” or “out of many, [we are] one,” Obama insists setting the unified values deep into American conscience. Labeling himself an unconventional candidate because of his multiethnic background, he expresses admiration for “commanding victories” made by his administration in predominantly white states and in South Carolina, where he garnered support from blacks and whites alike. This, he infers, shows America's hunger for unity. Ultimately, he proclaimed through his success in elections America is moving beyond its “racial stalemate” and addressing shared social problems (consequences of the past), we can achieve “a more perfect union” (ibid).Transition

American theorist Kenneth Burke states “man” is “the symbol using, making, and misusing... inventor of the negative... goaded by the spirit of hierarchy and rotten with perfection” (Mieder 316). The negative is not prevalent in nature; rather it takes imagination, a humane tool, to describe something as, “not” something else. Through the lens, of the negative, humans create the concepts of identification and division central to Burkeian ideology.

Identification (or consubstantiation) refers to a rhetor's perception of being “substantially one” with the persuaded audience. This accomplished through speech, gestures, tonality, order, images, attitudes, and ideas with which the audience can identify. Obama spends much of the speech attempting consubstantiation on a patriotic ...