Circumstantial Adjunct as Marked Theme

immediately regarding of the needs of the country in facing the current crisis. He needs his term of service as president to be seen as new chance to act in a better way solving the problems of America. He invites the people to take the actions without a delay. Obama asks them to stay on the guidelines from the founding document sentence 7, III, a, to start a new chapter of political life that no longer applies the old dogmas sentence 22, VII, a and 6, III, b, and to be more united and make things work together sentence 21, IX, b. The meaning of means, in the other hand, signals the way that Obama wants to get the plans done. He has defined some principles in the address and he wants the sturdy alliance and the strong conviction work to minimize threat and gain the trust and the corporation from other nations sentence 72, XIX, a. The common effort and the common purpose also becomes Obama‘s rationalization in asking for the people dedication to the nation in order to support his governance that is ascribed with the spirit of freedom sentence 87, XXVI, b. Thus, by placing those circumstantial adjuncts as marked theme, Obama drives the people to have a positive attitude toward his term of service. He shows that it is worth the support. This is seen from how he sets the message to be first affected by the circumstance he puts in the initial position of the sentences. 161

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

The last chapter of this thesis is provided to conclude the findings from the analysis and the suggestion for future researchers. This study has shown how power is exercised by the ideologically shared discourses in the first and the second inaugural address by President Barrack Hussein Obama. It achieves its aim by applying the Critical Discourse Analysis and the Systemic Functional Linguistics.

A. Conclusion

In both addresses, language is structures under the interest of the speaker whose political ideology is liberal democracy. The social norms are presented as the truth and the ideals are presented as the common purposes. While to achieve the ideals, the people must invest the hard work onto the material, economic things, labor and productions of goods and services. All has been polished by the discourse that builds the norms to be obeyed by the people but the individual‘s basic instinct to act upon their reality has been restrained and changed with the interest of the authority. The following part briefly shows the relation of discourse, language, and power in Obama ‘s first and second inaugural addresses.

1. Political Interest and the Potential Power Abuse

The analysis of discourse finds that Obama puts some notions as the truths and the norms to validate his views in resolving several concerns related to the crises faced by America. His main concerns which found as the shared discourses in Obama‘s first inaugural address are remaking America, rebuilding economy, and handling the political affairs. As the ideology i.e. the system of belief that he puts to provide the best reasoning for his concerns are Nationalism, the American Creed, Patriotism and Self-help, Action and Responsibility, Time and Change, Optimism, Pluralism, Equality, and Utilitarianism. In the second inaugural address , Obama‘s main concerns are remaking America, rebuilding economy, handling the political affairs, and coping with energy and environmental issues. However, he puts more values as the system of belief that provide a strong ground on his ideas and also to direct the attitude or the way the people act to support his regulation in governing the country. The values are Nationalism, the American Creed, Democracy, Liberalism, Equality, Utilitarianism, Patriotism and Self-help, Pluralism, Collectivism, Action and Responsibility, Time and Change, and Optimism. Those ideological values are provided as the tools that serve his intended meaning. The values have the all the positive meaning that people will easily accept. However, the meaning can always be reproduced based on the speaker‘s intention. Thus Obama does defining and redefining the values to influence the attitude change of the people so that it becomes in line to what Obama needs in organizing the society. As a president leading a nation, he is also a politician. So those ideologies support his political moves in governing. Obama also makes use the retrieved roles of president of the United States which put him as the main representative of the government. He is the symbol of unity for the people and who also gives the people a sense of involvement. So that, the power that is given to him as a president also influence how easy the people accept his views and by achieving the values will acts as directed by the president. The analysis found that Obama show a strong concerns on the economic condition. The discourses he has shared in both address are driven to one goal which is the establishment of the free market system. The people are driven to embrace certain values by which will bring them to the promised human dignity. When the defined values have influenced the people‘s attitude, it becomes one of the government‘s assets to strengthen the free market system. The people are also made to believe that free market system is a way to reach the common purpose and in line with the American‘s conception of Liberty and Democracy. However, the citizens can fill free to act because they have become trust in the definition of liberal reproduced in the addresses. The people no longer belong to themselves but to the calling that they have chosen while the choices are already limited by the given policies. As it is politically motivated, even the government has the potential to misuse the authority. How the economic should be recovered is an illusion covering the real labor which citizens must pay. The ideological stance masks the political interest to be seen as an objective economic truth. Furthermore, the vague definition applying to each raised values are potentially played by a party with tendency to benefit themselves. There, inequality and power abuse will always exist.