The addresses were addressed in the inaugural day of the 44
th
president of The United States in the U.S Capitol Washington D.C. in 2009 and 2013. They
were delivered by President Barrack Obama in front of members of congress and thousand citizens who attended the ceremony and also watched by millions more
around the world through mass media. However, the circumstances of these two addresses were not exactly the same since they were delivered in two different
times which means that they brought different issues regarding the social political condition each year brought to America. Therefore in this part, the discussion will
cover what has been spoken in each paragraph in the first and second inaugural address.
1. Discourses in the First Inaugural Address
The first inaugural address is made with a full attention to the social problems and also the international affairs that happen in the last few years. All
the issues are described with the intention to raise the alertness of the people to the condition of the country. With the blending of old values, beliefs, and ideology,
Obama offers new ways to see the America. He manages the people to hold those shared knowledge of history in enduring the difficulties faced by the country.
That means the people should not act outside what is believed as true by the president. There are some emphasis on the notions of Nationality, Pluralism,
Utilitarianism, Responsibility, Optimism, and some stress on the importance of Time and Action. However, those values, if held as what the president means, will
enable the government to construct the regulation and policies to direct the people to serve the power. The distribution of the values can be seen in table below.
Table 4.1. Discourses as Social Practices from the First Inaugural Address
No. Discourses as
Social Practices
Value Belief Norm
Sentences
1. Remaking
America a. Nationalism
26. In reaffirming the greatness of our nation we understand that greatness is never a given. VIII
37. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth
. XI b. American
Creed
7. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high
office, but because we, the people, have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears and true to
our founding documents
. III
65. Our Founding Fathers our Founding Fathers, faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine,
drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man
-- a charter expanded by the blood of generations. XVI
c. Patriotism and Self
–help
88. We honor them not only because they are the guardians of our liberty
, but because they embody
the spirit of service -- a willingness to find meaning
in something greater than themselves. XXIV 95. But those values upon which our success
depends -- honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism
-- these things are old. XXVI
d. Action and Responsibility
99. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility
-- a recognition on the part of every
American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not
grudgingly accept, but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the
spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task. XXVII
e. Time and Change
42. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking
America . XI
103. So let us mark this day with remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled. XXIX
2. Rebuilding
Economy a. Action and
Responsibility 11. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence
of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices
and prepare the nation for a new age. IV 44. The state of our economy calls for action, bold
and swift. XII 49. And we will transform our schools and colleges
and universities to meet the demands of a new age. XII
b. Equality and Utilitarianism
62. The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous
. XV 63. The success of our economy has always
depended not just on the size of our gross domestic