More Perfect Union Speech

More Perfect Union Speech In President Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign speech, the resentments of each subgroup spoken about are valid. Not everyone within the African-American community feels as strongly as he does about the resentments but majority do from what I’ve seen. There are many instances where one can say that because blacks and other minorities don’t get as many opportunities as those in the white community, their resentment continues to grow. Many African Americans also think that because so much has happened within the community due to what their ancestors dealt with, it sheds a negative light on them. I agree with what the President says about how even though the subgroups haven anger and resentments, they are usually expressed
in small groups. Almost never are they spoken about publicly. I think his statement about the anger and resentments being counterproductive are very true. Racial tension does nothing but set our communities, and country as a whole, a step back.
In my opinion, the only good aspect of voicing the anger and resentments everyone has against each other is that they become known publicly and are no longer secrets. By having anger towards blacks, whites, and any other group you are just widening the gap to equality. Jandt (2010) explained how knowing another’s cultural identity helps one understand the opportunities and challenges that each individual deals with. This is exactly why we must come together in unity. President Obama quotes William Faulkner saying, “the past isn’t dead and buried; in fact, it isn’t even past” (Obama, 2008, para. 27). I believe this statement is saying that the past doesn’t necessarily die; it becomes a part of us and makes us who we are today. This “past” is like a reoccurring thing like with racism, it is seen continuously throughout the centuries. And when it’s not seen or heard it is waiting for the right time to show itself once again. It is a never ending cycle. I do believe a trans-racial society is possible, but like President Obama said it will take time and effort to achieve it. It is desired by more Americans than it was before. President Obama believed that “working together, we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds…we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect
union” (Obama, 2008, para 38). Because our country is becoming more and more diverse we have to adjust and accept all of the various cultures and ethnicities in order to succeed as a society. We would have to start by initiating the equal opportunity rules stated in the constitution rather than just speak about what should be done. Boundaries that have been created should be broken involving race, social groups, and sex so that communication between the people isn’t filtered through physicality or stereotypes. Without working on communication between the people first societal change will continue to progress as slow as it has been.