soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and
science teachers we‘ll need to equip our children for the future, or build
the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do
these things together, as one nation and one people. ‖ IX, b
The choice of material process shows that Obama focuses on the act that government is taken regarding what is going on the reality of the discursive field.
Along with the material process he creates a circumstantial that the ‗act‘ is only possible when it is done together. The material process is employed not only to
create his image as man of action but also one strategy to arouse the willingness of the citizen to do so. Thus, this choice contributes a meaningful notion of
responsibility, collectivism, and also utilitarianism which work best at the economy development of the state.
b. Mental Process
Mental process is a process of feeling, thinking and seeing. Actor is not the real subject of doing, but the feeling. It represents inner experience, such as
―perception‖, ―reaction‖ and ―cognition‖. The two participants are called as Senser and Phenomenon.
Table 4.6. Mental Process in the first and second Inaugural Addresses
Address Senser
Mental Process Phenomenon
A We, our workers, they
believe, know,
remember, see, intend old
hatred, our
patchwork, America, a friend
B We, the people
believe, know,
remember, understand, recognize
America, our obligation, enduring security, our
country, outworn
program
From the examples above, we can see that mental process, as a process of sensing, appeals to the audience‘s inner heart to connect the political beliefs,
ambitions with their expectation, hope in a clear and emphasized way. Take a look on the examples below:
1. ―Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the
country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet XXX, a
2. America: In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our
hardship, let us remember these timeless words.
‖XXXI, a
3. ―…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. ‖
XXI, a In this way, the audience‘s emotion of promotion and willingness to the
commitment is aroused and strengthened. As an inaugural address for a newly elected American President, it must fulfill the traditionally and ritually required
functions. Mental process is used to state the domestic or worldwide situations or problems objectively and the relevant policies forcefully. Seen from examples
below:
3. ―For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed
when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe that
America‘s prosperity must rest upon the
broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their
work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship.
‖ XI, b Mental process is useful to conduct the reasoning related to the
relationship between traditional beliefs such as freedom, democracy, justice, equality, principles, union, happiness and American dreams and citizens
participation, responsibilities, sacrifice and the needed reforms in economy, Medicare, or other fields.
c. Relational Process
Relational process is a process of being. It can be divided into two modes: attributive relation and identifying relation. The first means what properties an
object possesses or what category it can be put into. And the other means that an entity and another is uniform. It is used widely in describing people and objects.
Look at the following table:
Table 4.7. Relational Process in the first and second Inaugural Addresses Relational Process
Address a Address b
Total Total
Attributive 33
60 19
63
Identifying 22
40 11
37
Total 55
100 30
100
The finding shows that Obama employs two kind of relational process. The first one is the Attributive. In Attributive process, a quality or a classification,
or descriptive identity is assigned to the participant who is called as Carrier. It means that the Carrier belongs to the classification. Meanwhile the second type is
called Identifying process. It is not about ascribing or classifying but defining the participant which is called as the Token. The Token is the ‗holder‘ of the identity
or the label. In the table below, Obama ascribes and labels the citizens with the attributes and the values which direct them in to the classification and the
definition intended by Obama.