The balance of rights between citizens and the government is often the catalyst for disunity and violence. Daniel Inouye, the first Asian American to give a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, discusses the current necessity to balance the American right to free speech and protest with their responsibilities as citizens. This speech was given to all the formally nominated democratic political figures at the time. At a time of disunity, for the country fresh off the civil rights movements with many protests for the unjust, as well as the ongoing problem of the Vietnam War presenting even more protests, this speech had a significant impact on notable Democratic figures. Inouye attempts to convince his audience of Democratic …show more content…
citizens. He describes America’s policies to the younger generation to showcase their extensive opportunities by highlighting how the “economic system has freed [young people] in ever-increasing numbers from the tragedies of premature mortality and early labor” and “schools in which [young people] are being educated to higher levels than ever in our nation’s history,” the speaker explains that America’s history of economic and political success provides opportunities for the new generations of US citizens. He then expresses how the young generation has taken advantage of these benefits, creating a “spiral of violence which has already cost [them] [their] beloved John F. Kennedy, [their] great leader Martin Luther King Jr. and the voice of [that] decade, Senator Robert F. Kennedy.” Inouye includes anecdotes of failure by mentioning the deaths of American leaders caused by the young generation taking advantage of their benefits, yet leaving their meaningful duties as U.S. citizens. The juxtaposition between the success and failure America has directly seen through the work of their own citizens establishes the vast impact the young generation has on American society when they abandon their meaningful duties as U.S.