Download President Obama on The Death of Osama Bin Laden

President Obama on The Death of Osama Bin Laden
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead
The president started with a tragic introduction reminiscing the unforgettable event
of Sep 11, describing it as “ a bright September day was darkened by the worst
attack on the American people in our history, the images of 9/11 are seared into our
national memory, hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky, the
twin towers collapsing to the ground, black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon..”
I believe that it was an electric introduction that touches the heart of people inside
and outside the U.S.A. He appeared strong, blunt and direct. He stayed consistent
with his message of hope and love to his community and country. He engaged the
people of all race, religions and ethnicities and unified them as one American family.
The president reaffirmed that the U.S is not and never will be at war with Islam, and
Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, he was a mass murderer of Muslims. In this
section of his performance, Obama employed complex rhetorical and linguistic
strategies, which allow the speaker to introduce and deliver the message in
favorable context. Analyzing rhetoric, Hart says “ human history has been written by
great persons authoring great orations for social betterment. Often, these great
statements have seemed more poetic than pragmatic, as satisfying to the heart as to
the head”4.
Obama favored the third person plural pronouns we, us and our(s) in the rest of the
speech, the pronouns played a significant role in creating a sense o unity of the
speaker with the audience. We, us, and our(s), are employed many times
respectively and are, probably, the most often used words of the speech. The
speaker does not distance himself from the American people; instead, everything
the president proclaims further seems to be issued by us- the people of America.
According to Capone, “ a political speech is in itself an interpretation of the
audience’s feeling and needs” that allow “the audience to build its own intentionality
while a politician reflexes them” (2969). Obama in this case, was a member of not
only the American society but also the society to which he speaks. His audience has
become international when he stated, “ Al-Qaida has slaughtered scores of Muslims
in many countries including U.S as well”. I think that this part of his speech in one
hand was very strong, yet friendly towards Muslim countries that believe in peace
and dignity. However, in the other hand, it raises uncertainties that continue to
trouble Muslims around the world – not to mention numerous westerners. How can
Bin Laden have avoided detection in a place so close to Islamabad for more than five
years? Why was there no attempt to arrest him? How are we to explain the absence
of photographs, the disposal of his corpse into the sea (in pointed disregard for the
Muslim rite his executioners publically claimed to respect? Anyways, president
Obama who has in the past been sharply criticized for his apparent lack of strength
and determination on national issues as well as on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
has scored a powerful symbolic success that will have a strong impact on public
opinion.
Prinz, Joachim. “I speak to you as an American Jew”, Web. 4 Apr 2011.
Capone, Alessandro. “Barack Obama’s South Carolina Speech” Journal of Pragmatics.
42 (2010): 2964-2977. Web.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead