Words and Ideas in the State of the Union, Part I

A few nights ago, President Obama addressed the nation with the State of the Union. I watched. If you don’t already know, I am not a very political person, but this year I’ve been trying to ecome more knowledgeable. (For my first experience with a political debate, click here!)

Similarly to that previous experience, I wasn’t sure what to expect and was a little nervous about keeping up. Like SotU teen guest Amy Chyao, “I don’t think I’ve ever watched the whole thing before”. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I understood and got out of the speech. This is the first of a two-part series of the SotU, and will focus on one of Obama’s rhetorical strategies.

I noticed that Obama peppered key phrases throughout his speech. I disagree with media trainer TJ Walker when he asserts that there were not “a lot of memorable phrases or sound bites”. I thought that Obama developed a few cohesive and effective expressions. He entertained the idea of the “American Family” as all citizens of the United States. This was representative of much of his narrative, as he tried to appeal to both Democrats and Republicans as much as possible. He generally did not reference either party individually and instead emphasized the need for them to work together. There would have been very different connotations if he referred to the American people as an army or a team.

I think this phrase channeled the unity he is seeking quite nicely and also promotes wholesomeness and supportiveness within the nation. However, it could be used pejoratively to separate the US from other nations.

Another key phrase Obama used was “winning the future”, which was used a total of 10 times during the address. (For a full transcript, click here!) I thought this set up an interesting metaphor: the future is a dichotomy that has only two possible results, winning or losing. This could be potentially dangerous as it also reiterates an us-versus-them mindset. In school, we discussed that a speech like the State of the Union (which aims to unify our nation, not appeal globally) is difficult to write without proclaiming American exceptionalism.

I wonder, is there really other way to do this? Can we promote ourselves without trying to outdo other nations? That might require a drastic change in metaphor. The US would have to recognize itself as a player on a global team, or maybe a nuclear family within a much larger family tree.

Want to see something cool? Here's a Wordle of the most commonly used words in the State of the Union address.