Posted:
Obama is a true wordsmith. With his charismatic personality and personal style this speech will probably go down as one of the most memorable political speeches. In style of speech Obama does not remind me of someone loud and assertive like a JFK or MLK.
In fact for me it is mind bogglingly eeries of how many parallels I can draw between Obama and Abraham Lincoln. Of course I never saw Lincoln speak, but from historic texts and archives Lincoln was not your typical electrifying speaker. He was a softer slower speaker, sombre and stoic, yet empathetic and emotive to connect with the audiences. With the uncanny ability to emphasise and highlight the right words. Obama's speech to me reminded me of elements from Lincoln's 'House Divided Speech' and "Gettysburg Address".
For some people it maybe difficult to grasp why American's are all head over heels over a mere presidential election that takes place every four years. The thing is that for us this is historic. A few years ago I did not expect that I would ever live to see the first non white president, even a female president or vice president sounded ridiculous. Non only did we see a multiracial man win, but we saw two strong women make a mark in the contest. Atheists, Hindus etc and other minority religions were frustrated that the Bush era had changed this country to 'Jesusland', I had lost hope that a more centrist person could ever come to power. For the rest of the world it is just another change of power. For many Americans it is history in the making.
As for placing Obama on a pedestal and worshipping him. I am against it. He is human after all, and that means he is flawed and will stumble many times. For years the Bush govt has been feeding us cheap ramen noodles, when Obama promises a change in menu we like greedy fools are thinking of a three course five star restaurant elegant meal - with waiters to constantly serve on us. In reality what Obama offers is a simple midwestern diner meal. Simple everyday needs to get our nation back on track.
Just like the Lincoln era paid the price for its change - abolishment - we have to be willing to be paying the prices for our era.
In fact for me it is mind bogglingly eeries of how many parallels I can draw between Obama and Abraham Lincoln. Of course I never saw Lincoln speak, but from historic texts and archives Lincoln was not your typical electrifying speaker. He was a softer slower speaker, sombre and stoic, yet empathetic and emotive to connect with the audiences. With the uncanny ability to emphasise and highlight the right words. Obama's speech to me reminded me of elements from Lincoln's 'House Divided Speech' and "Gettysburg Address".
For some people it maybe difficult to grasp why American's are all head over heels over a mere presidential election that takes place every four years. The thing is that for us this is historic. A few years ago I did not expect that I would ever live to see the first non white president, even a female president or vice president sounded ridiculous. Non only did we see a multiracial man win, but we saw two strong women make a mark in the contest. Atheists, Hindus etc and other minority religions were frustrated that the Bush era had changed this country to 'Jesusland', I had lost hope that a more centrist person could ever come to power. For the rest of the world it is just another change of power. For many Americans it is history in the making.
As for placing Obama on a pedestal and worshipping him. I am against it. He is human after all, and that means he is flawed and will stumble many times. For years the Bush govt has been feeding us cheap ramen noodles, when Obama promises a change in menu we like greedy fools are thinking of a three course five star restaurant elegant meal - with waiters to constantly serve on us. In reality what Obama offers is a simple midwestern diner meal. Simple everyday needs to get our nation back on track.
Just like the Lincoln era paid the price for its change - abolishment - we have to be willing to be paying the prices for our era.
comment:
p_commentcount