Analyse af Barack Obamas tale 'The American Promise'

Barack Obama’s speech, “The American Promise”, at the 2008 Democratic Convention in Denver, Colorado. His speech was broadcasted on social media, and it is believed to have set a record audience for a convention speech. This is important because Obama’s speech was intended to encourage American citizens to vote for him in the presidential elections.

Barack Obama’s speech mainly focuses on the theme of the American promise. The theme relates to the idea of opportunity, common effort and hope for a better future. Obama sees the American promise as a promise for better opportunities for the present and the future generations. Obama defines the American promise as a teamwork between each induvial and the government, where the focus should be on the well-being of citizens instead working against each other. Obama also mentions that America can either rise or fall as a nation, and that it all depends on respecting the American promise: “we also rise or fall as one nation”. He associates the American promise with the dreams of past generations, mainly with Martin Luther King Jr’s dream, which he refers to in his speech. Obama implies that King’s dream of unity should also be every individual’s dream for the future.