Topic > Evaluation of Obama's 2013 Union Speech

A magician gives the illusion that doves are created out of nothing but are simply hidden in his sleeves waiting to be released. The deception is similar to the way Obama phrases his statements in the 2013 State of the Union address. Obama is a master at calling out his opposition to having the wrong moral compass. When Obama delivers his speech, he appears to favor bipartisanship, but uses contradictory statements to show that he just wants his agenda to pass. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Obama uses contradictory and unified language throughout his speech as he addresses various issues that arise. For example when he says: “We don't need a bigger government, but a smarter government that sets priorities and invests in large-scale growth.” Who could dispute this statement? In most minds smarter equals better. He just showed how we can be smarter by investing in growth at scale. This seemingly innocent statement becomes a very biased request. The way Obama evades what he's trying to say, to fool people into thinking he only wants what's best for the country. He also uses inclusive language like “we” to give the listener a sense of unity. This is really affective in playing out the emotional side of viewers, as people aspire to make intelligent decisions. People have this innate sense of accomplishment when they make smart decisions. The reason this is actually quite complicated is that by simply accepting the phrase and agreeing without question, people are not actually smarter, but simply doing what they are told. Later in the speech he turns to the issue of the Second Amendment, which states that "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed," according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. When Barack Obama talks about the issue he acts as if he is simply calling for a vote on the issue. “If you want to vote no, that's your choice. But these proposals deserve a vote,” starting the discussion by saying that in his speech he is enacting passive aggression, which has been a constant subtext in the statement. “Because in the two months since Newtown, more than a thousand birthdays, graduations and anniversaries have been stolen from our lives by a gun bullet.” Its placement is essential to bring the reader into agreement with Obama. The basis of what he just said is that anyone who votes “no,” which Obama says is “your choice,” would cause these tragedies to continue. He uses this internal guilt to steer Congress down its path by associating negative emotions with the alternative. So it takes a personal, relatable situation and shows the audience how important voting correctly becomes. “Hadiya’s parents… [are] in this chamber tonight, along with more than two dozen Americans whose lives have been destroyed by gun violence.” Having Congress physically confront people who were affected by the act in question allows for the personal conflict that voters might face. The Newtown disaster is brought up to remind Congress what the current situation with gun laws has brought them. “Of course, what I said tonight means little if we don't come together to protect our most precious resource: our children.” Finally, the most valid weapon that Obama has in his holster is the fact that he uses "our children", when this is said the public unconsciously thinks of their children. The reason is that the.