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ForGIN.org Times:
History Speaks for Barack Obama: the Power of Words
By Von Critic
November 7, 2008
"Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our
nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of
our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals:
democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope", said
Barack Obama on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 in Chicago,
Illinois. Hearing the voice of the first upcoming
African-American president of the United States; fascinated
by it, as every other eloquent speech would do, my memory
took me to the days over a decade ago, while I was a student
determined to seek the power and the art of words that
altered our history, from the face and the back of the word
itself. It reminded me what President J. F. Kennedy, another
Democratic president ranked highly in public opinion
ratings, said in his inaugural address on January 20, 1961:
"for only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we
be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed".
A quote from Fleet Admiral Yang Wen-li, a fictitious figure
from "Legend of the Galactic Heroes", "There are coexisting
isms in the history of human beings – ‘life is to be
sacrificed for the cause’ or ‘life is above everything’.
People tend to chant the former when they declare a war, but
switch to the latter when they want to bring that war to an
end." Sarcastically, the enlightenment about "the true
strength comes not from the might of arms" and the
allegation of "sufficient arms" were just fitting themselves
in eloquent positions – in the face of long lingering
military actions and subprime mortgage crisis for Obama; in
the face of cold war and missile crisis for Kennedy. Take
these quotes relevantly or not, as coincidence or
controversy, in terms of change in policy or times, as much
as any historian would argue or any politician would quote
and rephrase, nevertheless, public opinion ratings were just
as positive.
Despite the universal law of unchangeable history, history
acts as an edge tool in rhetoric speeches and epic fictions.
It does not answer to any of those controversies, nor does
it mock or judge them. However, it builds the belief of what
made the strength of a country and the power of ideals. The
ultimate strength of words comes not from the way one talks
about the history, but how history talks for him - this was
a lesson I learned several years before I got to know my
favorite fiction, "Legend of the Galactic Heroes", a lesson
that I’d like to share with you as much as the fiction
itself.
The interpretation of "the strength of America", embellished
once more by Barack Obama, is as familiar but yet delicate
to me as the plot of "Legend of the Galactic Heroes". Back
in the college days, I once had a conversation with my
instructor from Massachusetts, Mr. Timothy Thistle, about
the history of World War II. Commended the magnificent valor
and enormous sacrifice of China, Tim insisted his historical
opinion that Japan had their chance to dominate Asia and
alter the history from there. "So where was the turning
point that shows ‘Japanese are doomed to fail’?" I asked.
Tim’s answer was certain beyond doubt: "when they were
stupid enough to bomb my country."
Inevitably, Tim’s answer to that question is somewhat
controversial, not only for Chinese, Japanese or other
Asians, but also for Americans. Even General Douglas
Macarthur would probably chew on it while leaving behind a
hopeless surrender and a dreadful Bataan Death March to his
successors. Yet, he was certain beyond doubt and said "I
came though and I shall return" as soon as he arrived in
Adelaide.
At the moment while Barack Obama was reviewing the changes
in history – the end of slavery, the days when women and
blacks couldn’t vote, the days when bombs fell on Pearl
Harbor, the days when human beings touched the moon and the
wall torn down in Berlin, he gave credits to the changes of
history, and the history spoke for him as his witness.
At the moment while Barack Obama was chanting "yes, we can"
at the end of every paragraph, along with his stirring
review of American history from the eyes of Ann Nixon
Cooper, an 106-year-old African American female voter, he
paid his tribute to the might of history, and the history
spoke for him as his election partner.
At the moment while Barack Obama was giving his regards to
the voters who "proved that more than two centuries later, a
government of the people, by the people and for the people
has not perished from this Earth" and named it "your
victory", he called out the spirit from the remarkable pages
of history, and the history answered him as his presidential
mentor.
By glancing through the history of America, Barack Obama
presented a historical moment, for him and for the
Americans, as the first African American voted as the
President of the United States. It was a moment when
Gettysburg Address, one of the most quoted speeches, brought
up with a new meaning and a new cause; it was a moment when
the Founding Fathers of the United States stood behind an
African American in his 40’s; it was a moment when 2
centuries of history stood behind a speech that was less
than 17 minutes with infinite support of inspirations and
expectations.
In closing, "the speech has ended; the history has just
begun" (Quote adapted from Dr. Tanaka Yoshiki’s "Legend of
the Galactic Heroes")
Von Critic
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