Towards a Happy Ending

Abstractions are important, but when too far detached from the mulch of things they become ludicrous. If the abstractions are firmly rooted in Tradition, it becomes harder both to question them and to show that, belonging to a different age, they make little sense in our time. US President Barack Ob...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Socialism and democracy 2014-09, Vol.28 (3), p.24-34
Main Author: Prashad, Vijay
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arid Zones
Christianity
Christians
Equality
Ethics
God (Judeo-Christian)
Ideologies
Imprisonment
Presidents
Social Change
Social Environment
Speeches
United States of America
Wealth
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Summary:Abstractions are important, but when too far detached from the mulch of things they become ludicrous. If the abstractions are firmly rooted in Tradition, it becomes harder both to question them and to show that, belonging to a different age, they make little sense in our time. US President Barack Obama's speeches are glorious. They are a joy to listen to, to read later. He is able to dig deep into the rich rhetorical tradition of the Christian world and of the US Founding Fathers, and to articulate a powerful wake-up call. But how far is it from our world, from our time? There is an anachronistic edge not only in the cadence, but also in the logic -- nothing here about the desertion of populations by the government, the presumption of a few to dominate the wealth produced by the many, and the turn to violence when other means wither in the quiver. Ethical systems cannot be built without any consideration of social transformations. It is not language alone that we must attend to, but even more so to the social context of the language. Celebrations of 'American character' and of the 'God-given promise that all are equal' are emotive, powerful symbols of an age that is no longer with us. Ours is the age of the jobless economy, where character and equality divorced from their structural requisites are cruel sentiments. Rather than a message of uplift, these phrases are a rebuke. Failure to live the American Dream is easily attributed to lack of character and a rejection of God's promise. It is easy to turn the most venerable elements of the American ideology from hope to despair. Adapted from the source document.
ISSN:0885-4300
1745-2635
DOI:10.1080/08854300.2014.957008