Inaugural Rhetoric

The interview of Michael Gerson by Sarah Pulliam really did cause me to think about the inaugural address more. When I heard it initially on TV, I didn't evaluate it and I simply thought it was an exciting historical moment in which our country took the ultimate step to prove that the racial stigma that had been practically integrated into our nation almost from it's very foundation, has mostly faded into the past. However, after reading the article, I find that it is true that President Obama did not take advantage of this to speak about this important occurrence. On the other hand, perhaps it is true that he purposely avoided the topic to focus on the nation as a whole, not just the progress of one people group within the greater nation. Despite President Obama's neglect or evasion or whatever-it-may-be of the topic, I did notice that the television crew did not forsake the moment; the majority of the times that members in the crowd were shown, they were mostly African American.

Another thing that the article mentioned that I did appreciate during the inauguration was the prayer of Reverend Lowery. I also thought it was a wonderful touch to have this figurehead civil rights activist there to give the benediction and to be a part of an event that he probably never dreamed would happen within his lifetime. I don't know how much he did in the movement, but perhaps the work he did in the past helped to bring about the ascension of a fellow African American to the presidency of the United States of America, and it is appropriate that he should say the blessing at the end of the ceremony.

It was interesting that Michael Gerson noted that "when George W. Bush used scriptural passages they thought it was somehow a threat to the Constitution and when Barack Obama uses them they're normal rhetorical devices". Perhaps that is because there is an unacknowledged knowledge that President Bush actually believes the scripture that he quotes and tries to live by it. I don't know very much about President Obama, and perhaps I am completely wrong, but my impression is that he only quotes it by rote and not as a part of his life's substance.

Michael Gerson further notes that "He was completely within the tradition of American inaugural speeches" in regard to religious references. My thought is that in America, where we are fighting to banish prayer from schools and exile God from the courtrooms and his name from the pledges, when it finally comes down to the "important" things like inaugurations, God is an integral part of our tradition and we are afraid to do things without including him. This applies to Obama's religious references, the prayers at the beginning and the end, and the oath of office itself. Perhaps this is a good thing that God is still a part of our important political rituals, and then again it is bad that God has been relegated to just an ancient tradition that must not be neglected.

Michael Gerson's opinion in summary was that the Obama inaugural address was "rhetorically flat". As I listened to it while it was being given, I felt that it was a solid speech, but not extraordinary. When I skimmed over the transcript just now before writing this, I felt a little more impressed with it. Perhaps it is a speech better read than heard.