Article: A Very Good Speech, Really

(Article changed on January 22, 2013 at 08:25)

(Article changed on January 22, 2013 at 08:23)

'I don't know what he is talking about but he does it very well'

( from the Movie The King's Speech)

I congratulate the Obama's speechwriter. If in the former Soviet Union they gave such speeches, there could be a chance to reach the desired Communism. The way you understand if the speech was good or bad is to read it in transcript without the actual speaker. I read it. And I liked it. Not that there was anything meaningful in it. Not that there was anything achievable in it. Not that there was a position in it ( in fact, that was the one and only topic of the speech - that is the President does not have any position of his own- that he is the 'first among the equals' and that he just follows the destiny of the nation), not that there is a promise   to reach something in 4 years- nothing like that. But it was so nicely done, that nothing, so perfectly, so eloquently delivered that for a moment, for a brief moment I forgot even the NDAA, the drones and the killing lists. I felt compelled to believe. Obama is a very talented preacher.

Come to think of it, preaching is a unique American feature and that's why maybe they sung "Battle Hymn Of The Republic at the inauguration. On the other hand, maybe the speechwriter was told that the new speech should be Lincolnesque in rhetoric and Reaganesque in essence. If that was the goal it was achieved perfectly.
Out of all immediate responses to the speech, one seems to me the most relevant; someone called Obama ' The Reagan of the Dems'. Bingo. The one and only invaluable quality of Ronnie was his total and unequivocal mediocrity; he never even tried to look as a human. Obama had concealed and trimmed his natural humanity to calm down even the most hysterical tea-partier and sort of explained to them that he was only interested in giving perfect speeches. That's what made him Ronnie 2.0 and   the definition fits him like a glove. He can dance now.

Whoever read the speech attentively though could feel an underlying current. That current was a discontent.   We are not really the most powerful country in the world; we are the most dangerous. Neither we are the freest. We are in fact the starters of the perpetual wars and the casualties of these wars are astronomical. Our budget is so bleak not because of the entitlements but because the idea of credit, debt, was embedded in our way of prosperity which was put out as a collateral; you, folks should invest in us because we will expand and prosper and we will do it either peacefully or by perpetual wars (because there is no other way) and destroy whatever countries you want us to destroy and create havoc and what can be more lucrative than havoc if   you are smart and ruthless, which you are, right? Invest in opportunity and your viciousness will not go unrewarded.

That's the vicious circle and the only way to break it is to acknowledge it. But we can't.

The speech was followed by an inaugural ball and it was magnificent. I would say it was very similar to the ball given in the Polish embassy on August 29, 1939 in Paris. They said it was a peak of elegance. Polish ambassador himself danced a Polish dance on the lane. On Sept, 1 the WWII started. Polish soldiers at Westerplatte paid dearly for that dance.

They said that this inauguration was simple and non- pretentious. I would agree. This pompous show was simple compared to other shows and all those crowds at the National Mall had their day. They always have their day in America.

One commenter said that it was good that there was not even a word about African- American origin of the President. How far had we gone, he said.
I would agree. But in the speech there was nothing about anything as I had mentioned before. As such we had gone very far- we had proven to the world that in the art of hypocrisy our African- American citizens can be on the same levels as the ones which are white as snow or yellow or green. The unfortunate feature of American exceptionalism seems to be truly color-blind. Add some music to that speech and you can sing it as a gospel. You can even dance to it.

Hope is always with us and we here, the true citizens of this country should not lose it.   Our President gave his speech. He can dance. We should work. It is as good as it gets. I really love this last statement. It is a truly American one. God save us from harm.