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that children can’t achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white. They know those things. People don’t expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better. And they want that choice. ... John Kerry believes in America. And he knows it’s not enough for just some of us to prosper. For alongside our famous individualism, there’s another ingredient in the American saga, a belief that we are connected as one people. If there’s a child on the south side of Chicago who can’t read, that matters to me, even if it’s not my child. If there’s a senior citizen somewhere who can’t pay for their prescription drugs and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it’s not my grandmother. If there’s an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It is that fundamental belief—it is that fundamental belief—I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper—that makes
this country work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family.” “E pluribus unum,” out of many, one.
9 Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America—there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don’t like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and, yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.
10 In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope? John Kerry calls on us to hope. John Edwards calls on us to hope. I’m not talking about blind optimism here—the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don’t talk about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about something more substantial. It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a mill worker’s son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. Hope in the face of difficulty, hope in the face of uncertainty, the audacity of hope!
11 In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation; the belief
in things not seen; the belief that there are better days ahead. I believe we can give our middle class relief and provide working families with a road to opportunity. I believe we can provide jobs to the jobless, homes to the homeless, and reclaim young people in cities across America from violence and despair. I believe that we have a righteous wind at our backs, and that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices, and meet the challenges that face us. ...
My Notes
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ACTIVITY 1.17
continued
pundit: a critic who makes comments and judgments
ACTIVITY 1.17 continued
7 Consider using a guided reading to identify each of the elements of an argument in Obama’s speech. Ask students to mark the text and label each element of an argument. Encourage students to discuss and critique each element, using the My Notes space to write ideas.
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SCAFFOLDING THE TEXT-DEPENDENT QUESTIONS
3. Key Idea and Details (RI.11–12.2) According to the speaker, what is the relationship between the individualism that we Americans celebrate and a government that supports everybody’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Reread paragraph 8. In additional to individualism, what other ingredient in the “American saga” does Obama describe?
4. Craft and Structure (RI.11–12.5) How does the speaker’s choice to end the speech by stating a series of beliefs contribute to the speech’s overall impact? Reread paragraph 11. What series of beliefs does Obama state there? What effect does this have on you as you read it? How is this rhetoric similar to the Declaration of Independence?
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© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.