Melanie BrusselerBen HendersonCAS 137 HOctober 3, 2013The Ideology of Unity in Barack Obamas A More Perfect UnionIn the midst of the contentious 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary, Barack Obama found his personal life under increased media scrutiny as controversy broke over racist remarks made by his pastor and spiritual mentor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright. In response to this maelstrom of criticism Barack Obama seized control of the dialogue by delivering his nationally televised A More Perfect Union speech at a campaign stop to the National Constitution Center. Through this speech Obama utilizes the surrounding media frenzy to confront not only his critics, but also the larger issue of the still present racial divide in American society. Through the use of repeated ideologies of unity ingrained in American political culture, Obama is able to relate his relationship with Wright to the racial chasm between the white and black communities, and within himself, in order to effectively promote his campaign platforms, calling for all Americans to cross this divide and support greater economic and social equality. Throughout his speech, Obama addresses two audiences: voters and the greater American public, as well as the critical commentators who tried to use the Wright controversy to insinuate that Obamas candidacy was an exercise in Affirmative Action --a way to erase the history of racism in America, without actually addressing its modern prevalence. These two audiences cause the rhetoric of A More Perfect Union to have a duality to it, on the one hand seeking to brush aside such criticisms, and on the other trying to convince Americans to unite against inequality and prejudice and give Obama their vote. To address both audiences effectively Obama breaks away from his campaigns earlier reluctance to face the issue of race by claiming that it is an issue that the nation can no longer afford to ignore. Obama directly calls out critics: Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so nave as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy - particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own. In such a direct reference, Obama brushes them aside so as to arrive at the larger issue his speech will address: his relationship to Wright, and its context within the history of a divided society. Obama condemns Wrights offensive sermons for the way that they polarize America, amplifying the negative until it distorts reality, and implies that as president he will work to bring the nation together on the issue of race. Because Obama acknowledges his past failures to properly address race in his campaign, the foolishness of racially based criticisms of his candidacy and Wrights failure to forgive past injustices, he is able to create an avenue in his speech through which he is able to move forward and have the discussion about race that he feels the nation needs. In order to move away from condemnations of Wrights comments that he made in previous interviews, which were viewed as weak and ineffective, Obama chooses to address his critics, voters, and the American public with brutal honesty regarding the history of race relations in American society. Obama juxtaposes the history of racism with the American ideology of unity set into the preamble of the Constitution: We the people, in order to form a more perfect union. This allusion seems at first to be heading in the strain of typical ber patriotic campaign rhetoric; however, Obama takes this American ideal down a different path and bluntly calls the Constitution unfinished, It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery. By so honestly criticizing the biggest stain upon American history, Obama peels away at the defensive layering that society puts up when dealing with race relations, and breaks down the barriers that often separate speakers and audience in formal situations, thus creating an emotional bond with his audience, through which he can speak openly and honestly. Obama builds upon this connection so that he can rally his audience to work with him to mend the ties that unite the races together in American society. I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes. Though A More Perfect Union is delivered in response to criticisms of his ties to Wright, through this declaration Barack Obama makes clear that the more important issue is how to move forward from the history of racial tensions as a nation, hopefully under his presidency.Obama continues to incorporate the idea of unity by drawing upon the phrase E Pluribus Unum (Out of many, one) which was the original motto of the United States. Obama weaves this slogan into a greater theme of his unique American Story that is found in many of his more famous speeches in order to further connect with voters and the American public. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts - that out of many, we are truly one. By channeling such a fundamental piece of American cultural and political identity, Obama makes his unusual background, I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas, easier for voters and the public to relate to. This connection that he builds enables him to call upon his audience to join him in action. Instead of just preaching that racism is wrong, Obama makes the issue more personal for his audience, and inspires them to join his movement against it. With this Obama also confronts criticisms surrounding his biracial ancestry: some commentators have deemed me either "too black" or "not black enough." Obama proudly acknowledges the parts that make up his greater racial identity, and relates them to Wright by contrasting them with the often-conflicting components of the black community, The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America. Obama explains that these contradictions, which are represented in their entirety by Wright, are integral to the makeup of not only Obama himself, but the nation as a whole. These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love. Obamas voice breaks as he asks the tells the audience that he can no more disown the black community and Wright than he can his own white grandmother, who has been known to use derogatory terms in front of him. Obama, by examining the racial polarities that he embodies, effectively casts himself in the eyes of his audience as someone who can help to bridge the racial chasm in society.In a final push to garner votes from his audiences connection to his message Obama takes hold of the American ideology of hope and marries it to his overarching theme of unity. He claims yet again that the complexities of race in this country, are A part of our union we have yet to perfect. By looking to the future, Obama brings together the ideological American Dream with his famous message of hope, a campaign slogan and the theme of his memoirs The Audacity of Hope, to inspire his audience to support his progressive policy proposals. America can change. That is the true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope - the audacity to hope - for what we can and must achieve tomorrow. Though he does not directly ask the audience to vote for him, Obama repeatedly offers facets of his campaign platform as ways to help achieve unity between blacks and whites. He calls for healthcare reform, education reform, and overall greater socioeconomic equality for all Americans as means through which society can bridge the racial divide. The path to a more perfect union requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper. Obama purposefully chooses to not make a direct ask for voter support, because he understands that it would detract from his greater message, rendering it just another campaign stump speech in the eyes of his audience. By lacing his speechs overarching theme of unity, or a more perfect union, with the ideological American Dream and campaign messaging and platforms, Obama makes a strong case for voters to support him, without detracting from the significance of his honest discussion of race relations.Barack Obamas presidency marks a great historical achievement for the black community, yet Obama himself admits that it will not alone reverse a long history of prejudice, nor will it alone bridge the modern gap between the black and white communities. In the wake of controversy surrounding his relationship to the incendiary Reverend Wright during the 2008 Democratic Primary, Barack Obama opens up a dialogue around race relations in America in a manner that is both honest and personal, understanding that a typical campaign stump speech would not convince critics and voters to move past his connection to Wright. Through the use of unity as an overarching theme Barack Obama relates his personal racial identity and American Story to the aggregate racial polarization in society, forming a personal connection to voters, which he uses to effectively rally them behind his platforms of social and economic equality and thus begin to work towards A More Perfect Union.