In his 2013 Inaugural Address, President Barack Obama addressed the nation’s problem of inequality people are faced with each and everyday day and how these inequalities affect the concept of freedom. He said,
“For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well” (The White House).
This quote is strongly related to Karl Marx’s main argument in his “The Jewish Question,” where he explains the strong connection between inequality and freedom, the types of freedom in everyday society, and the difference between human emancipation and political emancipation, all of which Obama’s quote demonstrates and alludes to. They prove that there is an ultimate connection between the state’s idea of freedom and equality and that of society. In the United States of America, there is a common idea of freedom; that is being able to do as one wishes, as long as he or she does not push harm onto others nor limit the freedom of others. In addition, there is another common ideal of everyone being treated as equals. In fact, the Founding Fathers, the founders of the United States, wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
In Barack Obama’s speech, “A More Perfect Union,” Obama made an effort to educate the American people on the history and importance of race in America. He explained how our nations founding fathers developed our Constitution based on the idea that all men are created equal, without actually practicing this idea themselves. He used the words of the Constitution to discuss the current racial issues and to state his concern of our imperfect nation. This was all in response to the very controversial remarks Barack Obama’s pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright had previously stated, which created much unease among Americans. Obama felt the need to address our nation about this specific problem, since he identifies as a black man himself, and offer a solution to end this built up anger and discrimination between the American people. In his speech, “A More Perfect Union,” Obama is able to clearly convey the specific racial problem at hand that created the exigency for this speech, as well as effectively share his own personal connection with this issue, in order to help fix our country and work together to find a beneficial solution.
In Obama’s speech “A More Perfect Union”, he emphasizes the importance of unity among Americans. He wants people to overlook their ethnic backgrounds and join together as one. This speech brought out many points that Americans should take into consideration. That even though we are all from different backgrounds, we should overlook our differences to make us a stronger nation. Obama’s speech was inspiring in some aspects, but in a way his speech also is controversial.
Gay rights are an issue that has caused controversy over the United States for many years, varying from marriage, taxes, or just being treated as an equal. Although many people have begun to accept the change to society, there are many understandable reasons to disagree with this controversial issue. The main goal with treating everyone as an equal is to get rid of all the hate crimes toward homosexual couples and individuals. Many people look at hate crimes towards a certain race as a crime and unacceptable, but they do not view it the same way when
Today I have chosen two speeches which are critical to the growth and development that our nation has gone through. Two men from different backgrounds and different times with one common goal, equality for all. The Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” both address the oppression of the African-Americans in their cultures. Though one hundred years and three wars divide the two documents, they draw astonishing parallels in they purposes and their techniques.
Freedom is defined as the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement. It is the power to determine action without restraint and the exemption from external control, interference, and regulation. Americans, these days, commonly regard their society as the freest and the best in the world. Their understanding of freedom has been shaped and based upon the founding fathers’ belief that all people are equal and that the role of the government is to protect each person’s basic “inalienable” rights. The United States Constitution’s Bill of Rights assures individual rights including freedom of speech, press, and religion. America has changed dramatically from the country our founding fathers discovered. Some could even argue that
In Martin Luther King Jr. 's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and Barack Obama 's "A More Perfect Union", both leaders discussed many of the same issues. The big theme in both was about race in the United States and becoming a much more unified nation despite our race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc. Both of these leaders also touched on the fact that in order to solve the problems in this country, we must be unified and work together. One quote that really stood out to me in "Letter of a Birmingham Jail" was "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere...Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." I really thought that this was a very powerful statement and one that makes absolute sense. Barack Obama also stated something very similar in his "A More Perfect Union" speech stating the following "...I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together..."
This inaugural speech marked the beginning of the second term of Barack Obama as president of the United States of America. It was delivered at United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. on January 21, 2013. The event followed the presidential election in the United States and it was very important all over the world, about a million of people gathered outside the Capitol to witness the president's words and millions more from around the world watched him on television (Staff). For first time, a president talked about same sex marriage and gay rights, he also talked about divisive issues such as reform of immigration policies, stopping climate change and preserving a social welfare safety net. Obama showed a progressive and liberal agenda, focused on equal rights and possibilities for all the citizens. The theme of the speech was “Faith in America's Future,” (Caldwell) and he successfully used various rhetorical techniques and resources to influence the audience.
First freedom is something that is earned and not guaranteed. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King Jr. says things are sometimes unfair in and “we know through painful experience that freedom in never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” (3). We do learn about things by having experience and trying it ourselves. We don’t always get things the easy way without any problems. Everyone has to work hard to have an equitable life. Also in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King
From slaves and immigrants to women and gays, America has struggled with the principle of equality for all people. A principle that is clearly laid out in the 14th amendment of The United States Constitution, “No state shall make or enforce any law, which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” (14th Amendment Section 2) And yet the rights of millions Americans have be infringed upon from the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s to even more recent history such as Gay rights. African Americans, Immigrants, women, and homosexuals toil till this day to achieve freedom from discrimination in a country that was built on the idea of freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
"A more perfect union " by Barack Obama was talaking about how to make a fair society. An equal society is a more perfect union . Not perfect but close. Blacks and whites should be treated equal. How we need to fix segregated schools. He tries to explain to whites why black people are angry. Since America was born blacks have been mistreated . Even before America was born blacks have been mistreated.
It’s very clear that the poor and the wealthy have different concerns. The poor worry more about finical issues while the wealthy are more concerned with economic or personal issues. But there are some concerns that they share quite equally such as the freedom from fear. To prove this, we will analyze the text from Barack Obama’s “Welcoming Remarks” speech and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” speech.
President Obama’s victory speech and Martine Luther King’s speech are two of the most famous discourses that everybody is discussing today. The speeches are representation of racial progression, which starts from the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement to the election of the first black president in the American history. Both speeches are a symbol of hope and a new start of the upcoming changes. In fact, both speeches called for unity and inclusion to achieve the American dream. Furthermore, both occasions had loud voices echo not only in the United State, but also in the global level. Despite the similarity of Obama’s and King’s speeches in the persuasive and inspirational tones, their goals were for different purposes and audience, also the effects on the audience were different.
The election of President Obama marks the most noteworthy political accomplishment for African Americans in the United States during the post-civil rights revolution, thus bringing about a change in the country’s social and political landscape that was steeped in racial discrimination since the founding of this great nation. Because social and political conditions are subject to constant change, President Obama’s
Liberty and equality were important. A country for people to live in happiness must have them. Presidents always cared about those for U.S. people. Obama confirmed that we have already gotten all in his Inaugural Address. It was the contribution of all generations. We deserve that, but we need to do more to improve and protect that. Not only for us, but we should also bring freedom and good things for our friends in other countries. This country was formed by the variety of religions, languages and cultures. Most of the people trusted in God, but there are many people have different religions. Racism was reduced and people lived in peace and freedom in all thing to do the right. For example, Obama was an African American, he was elected to
Freedom has a large range of meaning. The encyclopedia Britannica defines freedom as “the quality or state of being free, and the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action” (Britannica). In the American society there is a lot of emphasis on freedom, and the right to be free, but one must question to what extent we are truly “free”.