Klamer on Obama’s inaugurational address, 24-1-2009
Obama’s inaugurational speech is all about trust. First he addressed the lack of trust — a daring move for a president as Carter knows all too well –and then did what you need to do to restore trust: reach beyond the current state of affairs and find and the articulate what people have in common. If people were disappointed with the speech, they may reconsider. The speech is so powerful because it included everyone, not only Americans but people across the world.
At Academia Vitae we watched and studied Martin Luther King’s speech next to Obama’s speech. King stood just opposite of where Obama was standing. Yet he speech was remarkably similar as King also sought to use inclusive language and define what America is all about. It is the idea of a dream that also shaped Obama’s speech. In that sense it is very much an American speech. It could not be held in a Dutch, or German setting, yet interestingly enough it inspires Germans and Dutch just as much.
It was a historic moment indeed.
