Then we discussed the inaugural address. At the end of class, you handed in your journals. My questions to you were these:
- What did the speech attempt to do?
- How did it attempt to do it?
- Did it work with you? Why or why not?
- Is it a good speech overall?
- According to his premises and assumptions, what is the role of government?
- According to his premises and assumptions, what is the role of citizen?
Every inaugural address attempts to redefine the relationship between a citizenry and its government, setting forth the President's vision for how both should behave, and what each may reasonably expect from the other. In addition, an inaugural address encourages citizens to tie their personal fates to the fate of the nation, to recognize that each are inextricably entwined, however difficult it may be to recognize that in the course of day to day life. Indeed, our fates are indeed entwined: traditional American values do define who we are, and what we take for granted. We expect our phones to work, our roads to be patched, our water to run clean, our children to be educated, our hospitals to treat us when we are sick or injured, our universities to teach us skills that will bring us to the forefront of our chosen fields. We expect our fates to be within our own control, and not in the hands of a dictator or limited by a caste system. These expectations are not shared around the world; we must remember they are remarkable, despite their simplicity. We see class distinctions as permeable, and aspiration not only as a defining force, but a fundamental right--in short, there are truths we really do believe to be self-evident. We recognize why others want to come here, why we want to stay here, but sometimes struggle to remember that our collective wants and actions are, in fact, the essence of who we are as a country, and not just as individuals. An inaugural address is meant to remind us of this shared destiny so that we may treat it with the dignity and responsibility it deserves. By connecting us with these extraordinary foundations of our past, a good inaugural address helps us not only glimpse the better future these foundations make possible, but inspire us to commit ourselves to the work of bringing ourselves there.
Obama's speech promoted the virtues of personal responsibility, restraint, dedication to hard work, diplomacy and pragmatism. Some of you said he spoke to us like a father speaks to a child who needs encouragement, and perhaps a bit of chastising. We have neglected some of our duties as citizens, he implies, by not showing restraint, or demanding restraint in our nation's institutions or corporate citizens. We need to recognize that we are in troubled waters, and that only hard work and a sense of common purpose will help us find calmer shores. We have all the skills and convictions we need to meet this challenge, he notes; now we must put them to use:
“Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America,” he said. “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."
Elizabeth Alexander's inaugural poem (which, quite frankly, is better on paper, in my humble opinion) obliquely referenced these same ideas in the concrete images of poetry:
She tied the poem to the speech, and she tied the poem to the occasion, but all throughout it, I kept thinking of a different poem--one I think is better at capturing the spirit they each wish to kindle: Marge Piercy's "To Be of Use."
The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half submerged balls.
I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.
I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who stand in the line and haul in their places,who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.
The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.
It's worth reflecting upon.
Thank you for your comments today, and your own commitment to work. My work is a joy because you take your work seriously. That's worth reflecting upon, too.
YOUR HOMEWORK:
- Tonight, you are creating a list of "The top three things an author should do to create a strong introduction to an argument." To do this, you will need to reconsider the two essays we have read, and the inugural address. YOU SHOULD ALSO read the introductory paragraphs of SEVEN other essays in the Seagull Reader (your choice). On a piece of paper, please write down the PAGE, the TITLE & AUTHOR, and bullet point a few DEFINING FEATURES of the introductions you have chosen. Once you have created a list of defining features, create your top three list. (Question: in this assignment, am I asking you to think deductively or inductively? If you don't know, you need to review the introduction again.)
- GROUPS 4 and 6: Please add your suggestions for potential paper topics of interest to USM students to the wikispace.
COMING UP
- THURSDAY: The full paper assignment & Research overview: Using SIRS and Proquest/Citations
- MONDAY: Sentence diagramming quiz & Paragraph fluidity and dealing with counter arguments
- TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY: Time in computer lab to work on paper
- FRIDAY: Paper due: we begin Macbeth.
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