Obama’s Motivational Speech – Real Deal or Hot Air?

 

In the above short clip of Obama’s speech made in December 2007, it highlights the consensus that Obama is a gifted speaker with the knack to deliver his messages in a convincing manner. He pointed out that the States should not be known for only capable of leading through the use of military, which is becoming a stereotype amidst heavy involvements in Afghanistan and Iraq with the backing of their armed forces of course. Instead, they can lead the world by building schools, improving literacy rates, showing that US has the more “humane” side. They need to do away with the image of them forcing others into submission through violence, because it is garnering a lot of opposition against them because of that.

 Next, he mentioned that they should seize the initiative to alleviate the HIV problem that has plagued sub-Saharan Africa for the past few decades. He justify the need for US to get involved as it is the “right thing to do”, which is a matter of morality issue. It is one of the more pressing global concerns that we are facing, but unlike global warming which requires more than one country to resolve the problem, tackling HIV is a more “manageable problem compared to that. Of course it is not as easy as it sounds, but at least the spread of HIV can be checked with the proper solutions put in place. Again, the emphasis is that US not only cares about oil, but also sufferings caused by HIV which decimated a large portion of the African population.

 Then he move onto proposing the closure of Guantanamo Bay, as he believed that the detention camp is all but a symbol of violation and infringement of human rights. It is known to many that the detainees are Gauantanamo are mostly detained without proper trial, and Obama firmly believe that it should not be done that way. This is more like a move to court the votes of human rights activists, and how this argument will gain him support from the patriotic Americans is a question mark though. Although many of the Americans do not agree with the detention of terrorists without putting them through the proper trial procedures, and it is simply wrong to detain them without proving them guilty. Just like the phrase “innocent until proven guilty” perhaps. Saying that, one wonders how else can those detainees be “disposed”, for their release could pose more threat to the security of US and her citizens.

Another agenda is to end the genocide in Darfur. It is a military conflict in western Sudan that is estimated to have claimed the lives of at least 200, 000, with another 2.5 million being displaced. Getting involved to stop the genocide is a little similar to the case of curbing the spread of HIV in Africa, both are problems that already attract global concerns and require immediate remedies to be put in place. However this will be a tougher issue altogether, as surely it will involve the participation of the US military. And with their resources spreaded out with the involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, it remains to be seen how much US is willing to commit to eradicate the problem.

Through his speech, Obama stressed that there are many ways for the US to lead, but they must be able to do it the right way, it is not through the use of missiles and bullets. Rather, involvement in non-military issues should be the way to go. He believe he knows best what to do, to allow US to lead without compromising the well-being of Americans. His use of langauge and tone  is the key element in all his speeches, all his ideas/proposals are being conveyed in a forceful yet convincing manner. He wants to win the support of the people, by reducing US military involvement in the world as they are suffering from casualties that should not have happened in the first place, he wants US to take charge by solving urgent problems without having any sort of financial gain(as in the case of Iraq). Another reason why his speech tends to win people over is because of his ethnicity. Being a black, it means that he could be ostracised quite often in the process of growing up, and he definitely understands what is it like. To have gone through that and rightfully he has earned the right to say, “I’ve been there, done that”. His modest background will give him more credibility, together with his innate ability to win over people with his highly-charged and motivational speeches, it’ll certainly help him garner crucial votes in the upcoming elections…

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