[On August 28th, 1963
Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous
speech to the March of Washington. So this week I’ll AmericanStudy that and
four other great American speeches!]
On two speeches
that seem to tell the story of our last decade, and one that offers a different
view.
1)
Barack Obama’s “A More
Perfect Union” (2008): I’ve written
multiple times in this
space about Obama’s 2008 Philadelphia speech on race, his own heritage, and
the nation, a moment that not only quite likely saved his presidential campaign
and reshaped the next eight years (and more) of American political and social
life in the process, but also one that exemplifies Obama’s many connections to
foundational and ongoing American histories and stories (which is why I made
the speech part of the conclusion of my second book). But
all those broader contexts can make it easy to overlook the incredible power of
the
speech itself, which in its sweeping imagery and metaphors, its use of
repetition and cadence, and its movement from challenge and critique to
optimism and hope (among other compelling elements and strategies) makes it a
worthy successor indeed to King’s “Dream” speech. This is both a great American
speech and a pitch-perfect encapsulation of Obama’s appeal and presence.
2)
Donald Trump launches his
2016 campaign (2015): I don’t think I’ve written much at all about Trump’s infamous
campaign launch, for two contrasting but equally frustrating reasons:
because at the time it seemed like a ridiculous joke; and because it has turned
out that the ridiculous joke is on us, in every sense. I couldn’t bring myself
to watch Trump’s remarks again or even read a transcript now, so (perhaps fortunately
for all of us) I can’t provide a close reading of their rhetorical strategies
or audience appeals. But I’d still argue that Trump’s “speech” represents a
polar opposite to Obama’s, and not just because it’s so incoherent and rambling
that I feel compelled to put “speech” in scare quotes. Indeed, despite all
those gaps and failings Trump’s remarks do have a consistent theme and purpose,
and they’re one and the same: highlighting and amplifying national divisions,
especially along racial and ethnic lines. I don’t think Trump’s remarks had a
title (he’d probably just call them “Donald Trump,” natch), but “A More Perfect
Disunion” would accurately sum up both them and much of what Trump has represented
and argued for since.
3)
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “The
Danger of a Single Story” (2009): It’d be very difficult to think of a pair
of speeches that capture the story of our last decade better than do Obama’s
and Trump’s. But as the wonderful Nigerian
American novelist, educator, and activist Adichie reminds us in her
important and inspiring TED talk, having a single story about anything is
always at best limited and at worst damaging and destructive. The highs of
Obama and the lows of Trump are one part of our 21st century story
to be sure, and these two speeches serve as metonymic reflections for those
huge trends. But I don’t know that either focus quite allows room for Adichie—for
her writing and career, for her voice and perspective, and for this 2009 speech
in particular. Collectively listening to and learning from Adichie’s speech
would help us in so many ways, including both a recognition of the power of
oration itself and a desire to keep adding stories to our collective conversations.
August Recap
this weekend,
Ben
PS. What do you
think? Other speeches you’d highlight?
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