What I liked in Obama’s Inaugural Speech
Posted : January 22, 2009 at 5:15 am [IST]
I liked his humility and magnanimity. Even for Bush who had become the most unpopular president of US, he had nice words. “I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.”
Obama fully appreciates the present slowdown and its effects for all. “Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.” Obama is conscious of the ‘nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable’. However, Obama wishes to choose ‘hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord’. Obama motivates the nation. “The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”
He remembered the ancestors who were ‘the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.’
”For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.’
‘Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.’
And then obama enthuses to face the present crisis. “Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”
“And we will act. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.”
And then Obama reminds Americans what ‘free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.’
‘The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.’
And then he reminds ‘the story of change’ where he is the main character. ‘And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.’
‘We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth.’
‘This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.’
‘Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.’
The content appears universally applicable for all nations. And at end I question why India doesn’t have a leader such as Obama and why Indian political system can’t produce such speeches to bind the nation together. It reminds me of some of the speeches of Pandit Nehru such as the famous Tryst with Destiny speech. Why can’t India breed those leaders anymore?
- Indra
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