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flamingdem

(39,304 posts)
Sun Jun 28, 2015, 01:36 AM Jun 2015

Great analysis of Obama's eulogy rhetoric - from The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/grace/397064/

-- snip

Here are the three rhetorical aspects of the speech that I think made it more artful as a beginning-to-end composition than any of his other presentations:

— The choice of grace as the unifying theme, which by the standards of political speeches qualifies as a stroke of genius.

— The shifting registers in which Obama spoke—by which I mean “black” versus “white” modes of speech—and the accompanying deliberate shifts in shadings of the word we.

— The start-to-end framing of his remarks as religious, and explicitly Christian, and often African-American Christian, which allowed him to present political points in an unexpected way.

.. more at link
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flamingdem

(39,304 posts)
2. This helped me figure out why I was so swept away by the experience of watching the eulogy:
Sun Jun 28, 2015, 01:56 AM
Jun 2015

from the article:

— Here is another reason to watch rather than just read about the presentation. It reinforces the fact that this was a major national ceremony, involving fundamental discussion of national issues and prospects, in which all the major participants were black: president, preachers, mourners, congregation. I can’t think of a comparable previous event. Someone writing about our time will, I think, note it as an important step that this was treated not as a “minority” commemoration but as a central American discussion.

---
I didn't think until I read this that it was an all black event that I felt fully involved and invited, and it's true what is the precedent, there is none. That was delicate due to the religion not being "mainstream" but he/they/we pulled it off.

Cha

(295,903 posts)
3. "Obama's Grace".. The president delivers his single most accomplished rhetorical performance, and
Sun Jun 28, 2015, 02:02 AM
Jun 2015
it’s one you should watch rather than read."

From your link..

And of course it was. His singing was the aspect of the speech that will be easiest to remember. That is in part because it was so unusual and in part because it was so brave: Obama sang well, but not perfectly. For someone so precise and aspiring-to-perfection in most other realms of achievement, and so obviously hyper-aware of his levels of skill (he told Marc Maron in his remarkable WTF interview that he didn’t like playing basketball any more, now that he recognized that age had made him the weakest player on the court), singing like another enthusiastic parishioner, and not like a featured member of the choir, was brave and said something about his comfort with this crowd.

"The choice of grace as the unifying theme, which by the standards of political speeches qualifies as a stroke of genius."

That had to be it.. it was most definitely the most Amazing aspect of the whole tragedy.

end snip//

If you watch the speech again, note how carefully the “was blind, but now I see” theme knits together its elements. As a matter of composition, this is harder to pull off than you would think. And as a matter of political framing, it may not actually make a difference, but it’s as much as a political speech could possibly do to induce people to think about issues in a different way. Appreciate how this approach comes across, versus “you were wrong, we are right.”

Mahalo flamingdem.. that was compelling..

flamingdem

(39,304 posts)
6. I'm still feeling it Cha, what a day yesterday
Sun Jun 28, 2015, 02:32 AM
Jun 2015

It feels like inevitability, things will inevitably evolve to a better place and Obama is channeling that truth and unblocking people.

So simple but profound to say that we were blind to the pain caused by the confederate flag, I mean I'm used to it, I have relatives in the South, one endures it as part of the background there. But something can change ones worldview. It's amazing how language, and maybe song and music can transform.

Mahalo Cha!

flamingdem

(39,304 posts)
9. She was amazing!
Sun Jun 28, 2015, 03:00 AM
Jun 2015

Was surprised but shouldn't be that she was in the performance program at the Tisch school at NYU. Some background when into that action!

Tarheel_Dem

(31,207 posts)
14. Thanks for those quotes my dear Cha. Honestly, I will probably have watched it a dozen times....
Sun Jun 28, 2015, 03:42 AM
Jun 2015

before the weekend is over. It was, without exception, one his most inspirational speeches to date. I say that because it caused some introspection that I haven't done in a very long time. "Grace"! It is a theme that has stuck with me, and given me pause. No other president could have delivered this eulogy.

I think this POTUS, whether he's realized it or not, may have an entirely different career once he leaves office. The "community activist" found his voice yesterday.

hopemountain

(3,919 posts)
4. it was inspired.
Sun Jun 28, 2015, 02:20 AM
Jun 2015

or as some of us may describe it (but not the atlantic) - spirit spoke through him, worked through him, and grace stepped in touching many and beyond. the president was moved, too.

sheshe2

(83,335 posts)
7. I have read about it.
Sun Jun 28, 2015, 02:46 AM
Jun 2015

I have been working a lot of hours. I have my first vacation in a year coming up Monday. Will watch then.

Thank you for the read. Tears.



The killer of Reverend Pinckney and eight others surely sensed the meaning of his violent act. It was an act that drew on a long history of bombs and arson and shots fired at churches, not random, but as a means of control, a way to terrorize and oppress. (Applause.) An act that he imagined would incite fear and recrimination; violence and suspicion. An act that he presumed would deepen divisions that trace back to our nation’s original sin.

Oh, but God works in mysterious ways. (Applause.) God has different ideas. (Applause.)

He didn’t know he was being used by God. (Applause.) Blinded by hatred, the alleged killer could not see the grace surrounding Reverend Pinckney and that Bible study group—the light of love that shone as they opened the church doors and invited a stranger to join in their prayer circle. The alleged killer could have never anticipated the way the families of the fallen would respond when they saw him in court—in the midst of unspeakable grief, with words of forgiveness. He couldn’t imagine that. (Applause.)

The alleged killer could not imagine how the city of Charleston, under the good and wise leadership of Mayor Riley—(applause)—how the state of South Carolina, how the United States of America would respond—not merely with revulsion at his evil act, but with big-hearted generosity and, more importantly, with a thoughtful introspection and self-examination that we so rarely see in public life.

Blinded by hatred, he failed to comprehend what Reverend Pinckney so well understood—the power of God’s grace. (Applause.)


http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/grace/397064/

thank you, flamingdem



Hekate

(90,189 posts)
11. The author says so well what I tried to articulate yesterday about Obama's stunning sermon/eulogy
Sun Jun 28, 2015, 03:17 AM
Jun 2015

I watched him code-switch. I heard him speak directly to our hearts. This morning I was with friends, and we spent a goodly amount of time just going over his message and how he conveyed it.

Thanks so much for bring this article here.

flamingdem

(39,304 posts)
12. I searched for it because I was also going over the eulogy and trying
Sun Jun 28, 2015, 03:22 AM
Jun 2015

to wrap my head around all the layers.

The code switching was a physical experience, I felt included and let in on something intimate, new emotions, because of how he did that, a genius way of bridging.

 

Spitfire of ATJ

(32,723 posts)
15. The Right Wing is absolutely FUMING over that eulogy too....
Sun Jun 28, 2015, 03:45 AM
Jun 2015

ESPECIALLY the part where he tells America they need to remember the lesson contained in "I was blind but now I see."

The Right Wing DEPENDS on blind hatred.

Now if we can just get "charity" and "mercy" into the public conscience.

brer cat

(24,401 posts)
18. His eulogy was many things,
Sun Jun 28, 2015, 06:51 AM
Jun 2015

but to me a vital aspect was that it was a call to introspection, a challenge to open our minds that we might see.

"To settle for symbolic gestures without following up with the hard work of more lasting change, that’s how we lose our way again. It would be a refutation of the forgiveness expressed by those families if we merely slipped into old habits whereby those who disagree with us are not merely wrong, but bad; where we shout instead of listen; where we barricade ourselves behind preconceived notions or well-practiced cynicism."



Spazito

(49,756 posts)
19. Very interesting read...
Sun Jun 28, 2015, 09:58 AM
Jun 2015

Thanks for posting this. I was so moved by his eulogy, it was brilliant and honest. This analysis helps me have a greater understanding on how brilliant it really was.

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