What's In A Speech?

Watching President-elect Obama's acceptance speech I wanted to find something I am wrong about to hang my hope on, but alas, I could not. Instead I found further signs to justify my trepidation when he said that "we are not a nation of individuals" and that "we will come together as one", as well as when he said "we need to sacrifice" and that the job may not be done in four years. All subtle they are the kind of messages that I will be shrugged off as a fool for hearing and argued with that I read too much into such things. I hope so, I hope so.

I have not heard a President before ask for the people to sacrifice themselves to a cause vaguely named; but I heard dictators do it. What I saw on the various faces in the audience was elated worship, and yes elated hope too and it was clear to me that these people would probably sacrifice themselves for him and that scared me rather than give me hope.

What has driven this nation to greatness and to great achievements was individual thinking, individual innovation and individual sacrifice and not a melding of people into one. Melding brings out the average, the mediocrity and a susceptibility to be controlled.

I have not heard a President speak before, about expanding his term so soon, nor have I heard one say that this Nation needed to meld into one mind before it can be "OK" again; a one people before we can present ourselves to the world again. What does that mean? Why does he say we're not "OK" the way we are? What does he want to "fix" in us and why do we think we need "fixing" I keep having more questions then answers whenever he speaks.

Obama is an excellent speaker and his delivery is well timed, soothing and engrossing almost to the point of hypnotism. But over many of his speeches I have been wondering what is his really talking about, what is he not saying, where is the specifics and substance? Is he talking: Socialism, Communism, Capitalism, Moral Relativism, Pluralism or is it Humanism? All need sacrifice from yourself or of yourself but not all lets you keep your: self.

One thing is for certain, there will be change because there always is change; so with that word he's saying the obvious and the inevitable and he always has. Question is will President Obama lead us to the kind of change we'll all embrace or we'll all regret, or both?

As I said, only more questions and no real direction yet; just hope and change and on that, he has so far, delivered.

Thanks for Reading.