Hope for the Future

President Obama gave a wonderful speech that used rhetoric in numerous instances to rally hope in Americans. He used adjectives such as hope, virtue, and unity to bring a sense of "oneness" to the American people. I liked how he opened his address with, "My fellow citizens." This gives us the sense that in addition to being our president, he also includes himself as an American citizen and this gives us hope that he will act in such a way as to improve our society. Obama knew who he was talking to when he gave this speech. He knew he wasn't talking to a bunch of politicians in the U.S. Senate. He used examples that are personal to us, such as the economy and loss of jobs, to inspire hope and confidence in his abilities to improve these dismal aspects of American society. Before reading the speech, I must say I expected much more ethos than was given. I expected President Obama to say why and how he was qualified to accomplish the tasks and challenges ahead. Instead, he kept referring to us as a country and how we must unite and accomplish these problems together. Although his credentials and all of that were never announced, you could definitely tell that there was confidence, power, and experience in the words he spoke. As I mentioned earlier, President Obama used a lot of adjectives that play to human emotions. Hope, virtue, common purpose, justness of our cause, and force of our example are just a few examples of the pathos present in his speech. These words inspire unity and faith in the leaders of our country. Making promises in politics is rather useless because they never seem to be kept. Although he didn't do it terribly often, Obama did make a few promises that were pretty clear. First of all, he promised to make new jobs so that more people can be employed. Second he lists numerous things such as improving schools and harnessing useful energy sources. In response to these challenges, Obama said, "We can do it", implying that this will be a communal effort and not just his. Overall, Obama's message is one of hope for the future, correcting the wrongs of the past, and getting through the issues presently at hand.