Analysis Of Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech

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Barack Obama’s speech, “A More Perfect Union”, delivered on the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, was both a tribute to King’s vision of a color blind society as well as a status update of sorts on the reality of that vision in modern times and Obama’s own ideas for progress in the future. Both Obama and King begin their speeches on racial inequality by recapping landmark pieces of legislation that were written to serve as the guideposts for protecting the rights of the American people and signed by important historical figures. Martin Luther King, Jr. while standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial refers to the Emancipation Proclamation, signed by Abraham Lincoln, in which slavery was abolished. In his King explains: “In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.” Obama strongly follows the advice offered by King and further perpetuates that anger divides and does not help find a solution: “Anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition… But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the Let us be our brother 's keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister 's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.” Obama reiterates that we have a choice in how we handle race in this country. “We cannot accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We cannot tackle race only as a spectacle.” Obama continues to repeat the phrase “this time we want to talk about” similar to King’s use of “I have a dream” and “let freedom ring.” It is only towards the end of his speech that Obama states his ideal of change: “I would not be running for President if I didn 't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation; the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.” It is in becoming President however, that Obama himself was able to

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