I’ve been slowly catching up on analysis of the speech, and there have been some fascinating conversations happening all over the interwebs. Watching the speech, I felt it was beautifully pragmatic and perfectly authoritative and inspirational, but others were more disappointed, feeling it wasn’t as grand a rhetorical sweep as it should have been.
I especially enjoyed this measured response over at The Root, which deems Obama’s speech “a sacred effort.”
My favorite bit of his address came after an unexpected shout-out to atheists, who are generally ignored and considered a toxic bloc by politicians. It was a nice feeling hearing “non-believers” included in the same breath with Christians and Muslims, and, hell, I’m not even atheist.
We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth.
And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
“…that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve…” was definitely my favorite line in that paragraph, which was my favorite in the speech.
Yes.
Because I love the word’s musical qualities, I would have greatly enjoyed if Obama had substituted “heatherns” for “nonbelievers.”