Former President Obama’s speech “A More Perfect Union” was an interesting take on racial relations in the United States. It was not a speech I would have imaged a politician to give. Rather than make black and white statements about each group, which he acknowledges as a common trope used by other politicians, Obama instead looks to the deeper root causes of racial issues in the country.
Something many current politicians mention is the idea of forgiving student loans or medical debts. While these are quick solutions and will undoubtedly help many people, they miss the underlying problem of why these debts exist in the first place in order to prevent a situation like this again. There is no deeper analysis for why it costs thousands of dollars for a simple medical procedure or why college tuition has increased nearly 800% over the past few decades.
“That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations – those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright’s generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years”
This is what makes Obama’s speech so impactful and meaningful; he is looking at the root causes of racial tension. Instead of focusing on individual issues and moments, he takes a broader and more understanding approach. It is through understanding like this that more thoughtful discussions about racial relations can be had.
E367: Writing and Diversity 
Hey Sam
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^ Sorry I hit the enter key and it posted my reply 🙂
I’m really glad you mentioned Obama’s ability to bring attention to the roots of our nation’s issues, rather than just stating that they exist. I found his statements of our nation’s history, specifically slavery and Jim Crow laws, and how they have impacted the way in which we function today to be profound and really impactful. I feel that by doing this, it made his argument more credible that we have the ability to change as a country, but it must go further. This also backs up his claim of the racial divide in our country and that it cannot be ignored any further and needs to be addressed in order for change to be made. Finally, I felt that by talking about the history of our racial divide, I, as a listener, was more moved by how our history has set up our present and how we urgently need a change in our politics.
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Sam
I like what you said in your response. I had the same thought while reading the transcript, that this speech is not one I would imagine a politician giving. You are right, he is much less concerned about talking about the specific differences between groups, or individuals. He is concerned with the issues themselves as a whole.
I also liked the quote you grabbed from the text. I think we’re all aware just how big an issue the prison system is in our country. Specifically the fact that prison has become the largest institution, or provider of mental health in this country.
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Sam,
To completely agree with the comments above, I think you really hit this one right on the head with your thoughts regarding not expecting a politician to give a speech like this and how President Obama addressed the underlying issues of our nation and was not trying to come up with short term solutions.
I very much enjoyed the speech, and, regardless of my feelings towards the former president, I think he brought up some important points in this speech, especially when he was talking about identifying and beginning to work on a solution for some of the root problems of our country. There are no obvious solutions to these problems and there are certainly no quick or easy fixes. These are all issues that need to be addressed on a long-term scale and they need to be put higher on the list of priorities for things our country needs to fix. After all, the American people come before international or any other sort of affairs.
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Hi Sam, and everyone else,
I’m struck by how the metaphor of “root causes” runs through this conversation. I think I get why it does—since the metaphor describes Obama’s attempts to discuss causes rather than symptoms, to think about the history of the problems we face.
And yet . . . there also seems to me a way in which Obama is arguing against an over-reliance on our “roots”—on our sense that black people think and feel one way (because they’re black) and white people think and feel another way (because they/re white). What I most admire about Obama’s speech is his focus on what we’re moving toward—a more perfect union—and I find his closing example, “I’m here because of Ashley”, a truly moving story of people refusing to be stuck, rooted, in the ground they were raised in, but instead moving toward each other.
Joe
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Hey Sam, I think that pointing out the differences that President Obama’s speech hold versus other politicians is very important. Obama is not scared to put out the history of black Americans on the table and have a conversation that is much needed. He mentions that there is still a far way to go in order to have true equality, that there are even still segregated schools fifty years after the Brown v Board of Education case that ruled segregation as a violation of the Constitution. I do find these facts disappointing, that even after its proven to be wrong, a solution is so difficult to find. Obama’s words help put this into perspective.
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