In 2011, an operation took place that killed Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is responsible for the 9/11 attacks that killed over 3,000 American lives. After 9/11 the United States invaded Afghanistan because the Taliban was harboring Al Qaeda leaders and their training camps. The United States still occupies Afghanistan and is still fighting the Taliban for complete control of the country. Many American lives have been lost due to this battle and for many years the American people were frustrated with the fact that the leader of Al Qaeda was still at large. When the United States finally killed the brutal terrorist in Pakistan. Obama's speech announced Bin Laden's death and Obama
Obama's speech announced Bin Laden's death and Obama explained how the deaths of all of America's fully deployed were not in vain. He also talked about how the families of those who were lost on 9/11 can rest easy knowing that the man who took away their family members has tasted American justice. This speech is comparable to Pericles Funeral Oration because Pericles is trying to explain to the people of Athens that we cannot allow the deaths of their loved ones be in vain. He tells his people to keep up the fight because the men that have died fighting for their country deserve the victory. Obama does the same thing in his speech by telling the people that we cannot allow the terrorists who are still at large around the world win. He explains how for now the American people can rest easy knowing that the face of evil has been killed, but the fight is not over. He says we must continue the fight against terrorism in order to avenge the deaths of our loved ones, and continue to protect our loved ones from further acts of terrorism. Pericles, Obama and other Leaders of nations throughout history need to make these speeches in times of war in order to keep the people in the fight, and to let them know why young men and women are fighting overseas.
Interesting comparison between the two leaders. I think one difference might be that Obama was rallying and had the backing of the nation against one individual that represented an entire ideal, while Pericles was against a one nation fighting a war. What do you think these similar speeches say about the two cultures? In addition, to what extend should a nation go to in order to stick to their core principles?
ReplyDeleteI see what you are saying...bu what is your opinion? How have patriots died?
ReplyDeleteGreat comparison. I agree that Obama and Pericles all share great personal charisma and both of them are great speakers. One thing that curious me is that how much do you value the role of speech in this kind of scenario? By this I mean, Did people really motivated by the speech itself, or were the contents of the speech a mere reflection of people's sentiments thus made the speech effective and valuable.
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