Criteria for Capital Lease

A lease is an agreement for the purchase of assets whereby a person or company purchases assets through financing from another party which may be the manufacturer or direct owner of the asset or some financial institution such as a bank.Lease is also a rent agreement whereby a person or company agrees to rent an asset for a certain period of time. The party renting or purchasing these assets is known as a lessee. The lease agreement with respect to a lessee is classified into two categories which are capital lease and operating lease.The rent agreement is usually known as operating lease whereas the purchase agreement is usually known as non-operating lease or capital lease. Though the purchase agreements are usually known as capital leases some other conditions have to be met for the lease to be classified as a capital lease. A lease can be classified as a capital lease if it is non-cancelable and meets one of the four following criteria:1. At the end of a lease agreement the owners hip of the leased asset is transferred effectively from the lessor to the lessee.2. There may be a provision for a purchase of the leased asset by the lessee at a price lower than the market value of the asset at the end of the lease agreement.3. The time duration of the lease agreement is greater than or equal to 75 percent of original life of the asset.4. The present value of the total lease payments should be greater than or equal to 90 percent of the fair value of the asset (Brigham & Ehrhardt, 2001).One of the criteria for classifying a lease is the factor of present value of lease payments. This calculation is based on the discounting rate of the company which is an estimate and not an actual rate. The rate is estimated based on the next period lease payments or the total lease payments either using a constant rate or a declining rate.The present values calculated under the different assumptions may yield varying present values. As the present values calculated are based on as sumptions and do not reflect the actual values it would be difficult to compare the present value of the minimum lease payments with the fair value of the asset (White, Sondhi, & Fried, 2002).Operating Lease or Capital LeaseThe classification of lease as operating or non-operating affects the long term liabilities and the shareholders’ equity of the firm. The difference in the liabilities and shareholders’ equity entails a difference in the debt/equity ratio of a firm. If the company classifies the lease as capital lease it would result in a lower net income than the income reported with operating lease.The lease payments under operating lease are included in operating expenses and are not included in the liabilities section of the balance sheet. Operating lease is not shown on the balance sheet as a liability and results in a higher net income thus companies would prefer to classify the lease as an operating lease to reflect higher net income and a lower debt/equity r atio. If the company chooses to record the lease as capital lease the lease payments would reduce the amount of net income and the total amount of lease will be included in the noncurrent liabilities.A decrease in net income would mean a decrease in retained earnings and eventually a lower shareholders’ equity with higher long-term debts which would increase the debt/equity ratio of the company. The companies would prefer to classify leases as operating leases to benefit from the higher net income and a lower debt/equity ratio (Damodaran, 2005).References Brigham, E., & Ehrhardt, M. (2001). Financial Management: Theory and Practice 11th Edition. Cincinnati: South-Western Educational Publishing.Damodaran, A. (2005, February 2). Operating Versus Capital Leases. Retrieved July 7, 2009, from Pages.stern.nyu.edu: http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/AccPrimer/lease.htmWhite, G. I., Sondhi, A. C., & Fried, D. (2002). The Analysis and Use of Financial Statements. New J ersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Â  

An Analysis of Roberto Matta’s “Eat Us Sir Fire, Eat Us”

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“Love” in Carol Ann Duffy’s Valentine Essay

Many people usually see â€Å"love† only one side especially when they deeply fall in love with someone. There are a lot of poems that respond the feeling of these falling in love people about how beautiful love is. It is true that love is beautiful. On the other hand, for me sometimes love is also painful. I really like the sentence that â€Å"love is color-blind† because this sentence can show not only the positive side of love but also the negative side of love. So does Carol Ann Duffy’s Valentine. On Valentine’s day, many people will neatly prepare the present such as a red rose, a cute card, or something that extremely beautiful and worthwhile for their beloved couples but Carol Ann Duffy thinks that these presents are predictable. Carol Ann Duffy says that she will give an onion to whom she loves. Why onion? It is because an onion represents both sides of love. Love has many layers like an onion. You may waste your time for many people who are not the right one for you and will face many problems and barriers that you and your love have to fight for love before you will find â€Å"true love.† Along this way, sometimes you will be sad and cry many times like an onion when you peel it because an onion can make your tears. In contrast, you can say that the nature of an onion can refer to the levels of happiness that happiness has many levels itself. Sometimes it means comfort and memories but sometimes it means like a firework. In addition, Carol Ann Duff compares an onion to the moon too. Although the moon is wrapped in brown paper, it still has light. Like love, no matter what is going to happen, it is still light and beautiful. On the contrary, the moon is the sign of sorrow opposite of the sun. At first when you see the moon, you may consider that it is extremely beautiful but if you see it much closer, you will see it is rough. It is not so beautiful as you firstly see it from the far. It is like an onion because you will think it causes nothing until you peel it. In other word, it is like love. You cannot know that love can also hurt you whether you face it yourself. It takes time to know how painful love can be like it takes way to know how rough the moon is. Carol Ann Duffy tries to tell about the truth of love as she says â€Å"I am trying to be truthful†. You have chances to choose â€Å"to love or not to love† whether you choose â€Å"to love†, you should know that love is no t always end of happiness. It is like when you have the proposal. It is optional. You can choose to be still alone or to walk together with your love. Love will be possessive and honest as long as we walk along together or love can bring heartache if we do not get along well. If you agree the proposal, your life will be changed. If you are married, the wedding ring will stay on your left ring finger to show love between you and your love and it will stay forever if you get along well like the smell of an onion that will stick to your fingers when you peel it. But if not love can be deadly. You can get the suicide holding the knife if you are really disappointed â€Å"Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring, if you like. Lethal. Its scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your knife.† In my opinion, the knife also has two sides. It depends on you that you can use the knife in the useful way as the real knife can be used in your daily life. You can be a good wife with the knife because you can use knife to make amazing food for your husband. Conversely, you can also use the knife to make a tragedy scene. Therefore, you can choose your way by yourself. Love is always bitter-sweet. No one will be happy or sad about love all the time. Love has both sides itself. It can fulfill your hope or make you upset. Hence, Carol Ann Duffy’s Valentine is the poem that builds the realistic portray of love to make the reader be aware of love because love is not always beautiful, sometimes it is painful.

Summary of health article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary of health article - Essay Example The database, managed by United Health Group Inc. subsidiary Ingenix Inc., has been alleged to be seriously flawed and manipulated by the insurers, resulting to poor reimbursements and higher medical bills for consumers. Most recent complaints on this accuse Aetna of manipulating the database to get rid of valid high charges. According to a complaint filed recently in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Aetna and Ingenix collaborated to fabricate figures favorable to the company, thus corrupting the database to yield inaccurate results, lowering down the reimbursements for doctors. The complaint further claims that this has greatly damaged physician-patient relationships. Dr. Nancy H. Nielsen, President of A.M.A., stated that the association is putting an end to the health insurers’ unfairly manipulative business practices, disregarding patients and the legally acceptable costs of caring for them, citing a certain case of an anonymous surgeon who was paid way below his billed charges. To these, Aetna spokeswoman Cynthia Michener commented that they will by all means defend the company amidst similar claims by consumers in New Jersey and Connecticut. She further expressed disappointment over the medical community’s move to sue them when the company has succeeded to develop better collaboration with doctors. Cigna, on the other hand, believes that physician’s pricing must be more transparent in order to achieve lower costs at higher quality

Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Business Law - Essay Example 2 In order to have a valid contract, an offer must sufficiently be accepted. In this case when Simon ordered the 20 coffee machines, there was already a valid offer to purchase the said product from the wholesaler. In order that the contract may be perfected, what is needed is the valid acceptance of the wholesaler. But since the wholesaler made no reply since the offer to purchase on Thursday, Simon had every right to change his mind. When Simon sent a telefax canceling his order on Tuesday thereafter, there was still no perfected contract. The general rule is, once the acceptance is made, the offerror can no longer revoke the offer. But the acceptance becomes binding on the offerree only when it reaches the offeror. In this case the telefax was sent on Tuesday, while the letter of acceptance, confirming the order was received the next day. In order for the contract to be valid, acceptance of the offer is needed to create legal rights and duties arising from such agreement. In this case Simon has revoked his offer prior having knowledge of the acceptance the next day. In the case of Entores Ltd. v Miles Far East Corporation (1955)3, where the parties where dealing on an agreement based on telex communication between parties, it was held that it was not until the message of acceptance was received by the offeror until the contract is deemed perfected or complete. Lord Denning, Master of the Rolls, provided that if a notice of withdrawal was sent during business hours, the withdrawal was effective as of the time it was received by the telex machine, regardless if the other party received it or not based on their own neglect.4 In our case it is obvious that after a number of days without confirmation of the request, Simon sent a telefax canceling his order on Tuesday, a day before there was a valid acceptance from the wholesaler. Hence, he had all the right to revoke his primary offer to purchase the coffee makers since there was no acceptance yet made, there was no contract yet perfected or created at that time. The telefax remains open to receive messages, there was also no confirmation made by the wholesaler that the request to purchase their product was even accepted, in addition to that there was no consideration or payment made. Simon had timely withdrawn his offer before any contract was created, hence he will not be liable for any demand based on breach of a contract that was never effective. The use of disclaimers in shops or place of business is generally allowed by law, but the rule is not absolute, as it does not include responsibility for negligence as provided in the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. Simon cannot rely on his general disclaimer from preventing himself to be sued based on negligence that resulted to damages. The law provides that although disclaimers are allowed, it cannot be made or put in general terms as to limit the liability of the owner in every case, as the limited liability depends on the nature of the obl igation and must be reasonable as not to cause boundless responsibilities. It was held in the case of Staples v West Dorset District Council (1995) 5that a disclaimer or notice to be valid must renounce responsibility based on specific issues6. In this case, Simon posted a notice renouncing all responsibility for

Advance cost accounting Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Advance cost accounting - Article Example Hongren, Datar and Foster explain capital budgeting as having six stages that are, in that order, identification, search, information acquisition, selection, financing and implementation and control stages (7). Formal methods employed in capital budgeting that use incremental cash flows of potential projects include techniques such as discounted cash flow, internal rate of return, equivalent annuity, net present value, payback period and profitability index. Essentially, through the discounted cashflow method, the expected outward and inward flow of cash in a project are calculated as if they took place together at one time so they can be averaged appropriately. The net present value and internal rate of return are methods of discounted cash flow, and the internal rate of return is a function of the expected net annual cash flow and present value annuity factor (Hongren, Datar & Foster 19). Compared to internal rate of return, net present value is more advantageous because its end re sult is not expressed as a percentage but, rather, in dollars, and it provides the opportunity to add individual projects. Further, it is applicable in situations in which the required rate of return of a project varies throughout its life. On the other hand, it is not possible to add or average a project’s individual rate of return to derive internal rate of return of several combined projects (Hongren, Datar & Foster 22). Through the identification stage, the need to consider venturing into a new project is identified by the management, and several alternatives will be yielded in the search stage, although the focus will remain on a particular project (Hongren, Datar & Foster 8). Decisions deemed to be of a strategic nature call for the management to consider a wide scope of factors that cannot be easily estimated. While information will be acquired by the administration in

Government Agency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Government Agency - Essay Example They are supposed to help each other especially in the absence of the other person since he is the nearest one in the area. One post man was sick for one week so he was not able to deliver the mails. While the other knows it, he deliberately did not finish he tasks of the other post man, leaving some mails undelivered. Upon the return of the sick postman, he discovered that not all mails were delivered and some of them are urgent. It has caused the conflict between the two postmen so that the Postmaster had to intervene. As a judicial authority, the Postmaster has pushed for a truce between the two postmen, giving a proper sanction to the one who failed to deliver the mail such as asking him to deliver the remaining mails, while helping the sick post man to deliver the recent mails. The Postmaster has also created a rule that the postman at the adjacent county should be responsible for all the letters left by a sick postman-partner so that he is liable for any loss or

People & Organisational Management in the Built Environment Essay

People & Organisational Management in the Built Environment - Essay Example The researcher states that the skills, that are acquired by a manager matter a lot when managing people within a built environment. Modern managers are expected to be competent in performing their technical responsibilities as well as in handling the subordinates. Considering the tight competition in the workplace, the need for managers to constantly update their management skills is strongly advised. In relation to people and organizational management, the first part of the study will provide the definition and concept of ‘people and organizational management’ followed by discussing the most important people and organizational management theoretical concept. Right after defining the concept, a literature review will be conducted in determining the importance of the principles behind people and organizational management towards the student’s profession as a manager in a built environment. Eventually, some recommended strategic ways in which management theories cou ld enable us to meet the key challenges of the 21st century will be identified and discussed. For the second part of the study, the student will conduct a self-reflection with regards to the student’s own management competencies as a manager in a built environment. People management alone is not enough in enabling built environment achieve its organizational goals. In conclusion, for the success of a built environment, managers should be able to effectively integrate the important functions of people and organizational management.

Different forms of healing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Different forms of healing - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that healing refers to the restoration of well-being after a state of dysfunction of the mind and body. This may occur spontaneously or over time and is subject to many different factors. These factors help to create a difference of perspective and approach to different kinds of healing. People, therefore, tend to adopt the form of healing that works best for them. This may make all them skeptical of all the other forms, but that belittling is unnecessary. One thing that all do agree in the concept of healing is the occurrence of a state of dysfunction and the subsequent attempt to remedy it. Medical healing is the newest form of healing. It involves the evaluation of a disease state of the body, and this process occurs under the watchful eye a trained physician. The physician makes an attempt of examining the signs and symptoms presented by the ailing individual. An intelligent guess follows, and a series of tests have to be done to rule o ut most of the possibilities. This aims at increasing the chances of a correct diagnosis. Since most disease conditions are elaborate from extensive study, the remedy or relevant management for a correctly diagnosed condition is always at hand. This is the mainstream form of healing that now renders the other entire forms alternative. Energy healing is a form of an alternative process of restoration to full function. Those who prefer this form of healing are rather conservative and not ready to embrace contemporary medicine. Individuals for this form of healing argue that physical pain is only a symptom of a complex or a greater imbalance. These may or may not have its causative origin within the physical body (Sternberg, 2009). Modalities of Energy Healing Energy healing has found vast application today as a form of complementary or alternative form of healing. The few forms described above give a basic concept that energy-healing modalities only differ in scope and method of delivery, whether hands-on, hands-off or even distant. The most common of these methods include Acupuncture, Reiki, Aromatherapy, Yoga, Applied Kinesiology and Hypnotherapy. However, they all tend to agree that in all these methods, an individual has to be viewed in totality and not just as a sum of his or her body parts as seen in contemporary medicine. Energy healing comes in many forms. The four principal forms can be elucidated. Pranic Healing Pranic healing is one of the highly evolved forms of energy healing. It was developed by Master Choa Kok Sui. It is a relatively cheap yet effective method of energy healing. This has a fundamental basis that is, the conviction that the body is a self-repairing living unit. This argument gives the body the ability to heal itself using the readily available prana. Prana, as explained by Master Choa, is an invisible life force or bioenergy that keeps the body alive. This bioenergy is available from the sun, air and even the ground. This form of healing is popular among people who are skeptical to contact healing. This is because it involves no contact whatsoever between the practitioner and the ailing individual or client. It suggests that the practitioner works on the bio-plasmic body and not directly on the physical body. The bio-plasmic body is the aura that as argued, tends to surround and interpenetrate the physical body. It sustains the physical body and affects emotions, how people cope with stress, affairs and even finances. Pranic healing views ailments as energetic disruptions in the aura that later manifest as physical problems and, therefore, can be reversed by manipulating the said aura (Sternberg, 2009).

Medication Management Review Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Medication Management Review Questions - Essay Example Schedule 7 drugs have high to extremely high toxicity require special precautions in their manufacture, handling, or use they also require special regulations restricting their availability, possession or use. Also known as, a central line or CVC is long, soft, thin, hollow tube that is placed into a large vein. A central line is much like an intravenous catheter that is placed in a small vein in an arm, except that a central line is longer and is placed in a large vein leading to the heart in the neck, upper chest, leg, or arm. Bonnie Fahy, RN, MN, Marianna Sockrider, MD, DrPH "Defining Addiction, Physical And Psychological Dependence To Drugs, Alcohol And Other Related Addictions." Drug Rehabilitation .The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University:"Wasting the Best and the Brightest: Substance Abuse at America’s Colleges and Universities", March 2007. Myers, David G. Psychology. 9th Ed. Beilin Y, Arnold I, Telfeyan C, Bernstein HH, Hossain S (2000). "Quality of Analgesia When Air versus Saline Is Used For Identification of the Epidural Space in the Parturient". Reg Anesth Pain Med 25

The most compelling problems facing youth in the 21st Century Essay Example for Free

The most compelling problems facing youth in the 21st Century Essay Preparing Americas children for the 21st century is among our most important national priorities. Todays children face the promise of a new century of unparalleled opportunity in which new technologies, improvements in health, expanding economies, and other advances create the hope that their future will be the brightest of any generation in history. Yet, too many of them face obstacles that obscure that bright future, including poverty, violence, child abuse, limited educational opportunity, and unhealthy behaviors. The devastating economic, social, and human costs of these obstacles are indisputable. Addressing these challenges to their future and investing in opportunities so that all children can reach their full potential. An essential component of this strategy is undertaking research to provide new knowledge of ways to improve their futures and to provide sound guidance for policy makers to assure that efforts to help are likely to succeed. Numerous indicators of the well-being of our children and families paint a mixed picture of successes and shortcomings. Our national infant mortality rate is declining rapidly and is at a record low, but is still higher than that of many other countries. Our childrens test scores in reading and science are improving but still trail those of several other industrialized nations. Our school dropout rate is unacceptably high, costing over $250 billion each year in lost earnings and foregone taxes, as well as lost human potential. Our teenage pregnancy rate is declining slightly, but is still the highest in the developed world. Our national vaccination coverage is the highest ever, but in many communities less than 50 percent of two-year-olds are adequately immunized. A similar picture of gains and unmet goals exists with respect to youth violence, child poverty, smoking, and other substance abuse. Much of the progress achieved in these and other areas is the result of critical research efforts that have advanced our understanding of how children and youths develop into healthy and productive individuals. Research has helped to inform policy decisions and program development, track outcomes, and identify strategies that work and those that do not. The Federal investment in research has clearly paid dividends in terms of improved outcomes for children and a healthier and brighter outlook for the entire Nation. Despite such important achievements, much remains to be done: Significant gaps  persist in our understanding of how children grow up to be healthy, well-educated, and responsible members of society. Given the profoundly changing nature of our communities and Nation, strengthening the Federal research enterprise on child and adolescent development and expanding its role in shaping relevant policy are especially crucial to serving national goals.

The interesting topic Essay Example for Free

The interesting topic Essay The marking criteria should be available to candidates whilst completing the task. The quality of written communication will be assessed in the judgements and conclusion section. The total number of marks for this unit is 45. INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES †¢ This document consists of 8 pages. Any blank pages are indicated. Teachers are responsible for ensuring that assessment is carried out against the Controlled Assessment set for the relevant examination series (detailed above). Assessment evidence produced that does not reflect the relevant examination series will not be accepted.  © OCR 2010 [Y/600/3256] DC (AC/DJ) 64632/1 OCR is an exempt Charity Turn over 2 The purpose of this unit is to carry out a practical investigation of a topic chosen from a set of options supplied by OCR. In the course of the investigation, there will be an opportunity to look in depth at an aspect of computing that goes beyond the subject matter outlined in A451. The tasks will require a significant element of practical activity, which must be evidenced in the report and which will form a major element of the assessment. The topics will enable practical investigation and some supplementary research to be carried out in a variety of ways. These will include, but are not restricted to: †¢ practical investigations with hardware or software †¢ practical investigations with online resources Supplementary research may be required and resources may include: †¢ web-based enquiry †¢ contact with IT professionals †¢ research using computer industry publications  © OCR 2010 A452 Jan13/Jun15 3 Candidates should complete all tasks. Validating web forms Many web sites collect information from people using forms. These forms can be put together using HTML form objects. The data entered is normally sent back to the web server where it is processed by database software. It is always a good idea if the data entered into a computer system is validated in order to reduce the number of errors that occur. A lot of this validation can be carried out at the client end of the process. In other words, processing can be carried out by the browser. There are various ways in which this can be done. A common way is to write scripts that intercept the input data and check it before it is submitted to the server. There are various scripting languages that can be used to write the necessary validation routines. A popular example is JavaScript. Most browsers are able to interpret JavaScript. JavaScript, just like other elements of a web page, is best written using a plain text editor such as Notepad. Scripts can be embedded in a web page or saved separately as JavaScript files, using the extension js. The web page can access these scripts when needed. Here is the starting point for a form that collects information about exam entries. File Edit View History Bookmarks Tools Help http://examentry. net Exam entry Exam Entry Form Name Subject Submit Reset Fig. 1 It contains two text boxes. When the Submit button is clicked, a script checks that both boxes have been filled in. Here is the HTML code that lies behind the form and the JavaScript code that does the validation. Exam entry function validateForm() { var result = true; var msg=†Ã¢â‚¬ ; if (document. ExamEntry. name. value==†Ã¢â‚¬ ) { msg+=†You must enter your name †; document. ExamEntry. name. focus(); document. getElementById(‘name’). style. color=†red†; result = false; }  © OCR 2010 A452 Jan13/Jun15 Turn over 4 if (document. ExamEntry. subject. value==†Ã¢â‚¬ ) { msg+=†You must enter the subject †; document. ExamEntry. subject. focus(); document. getElementById(‘subject’). style. color=†red†; result = false; } if(msg==†Ã¢â‚¬ ){ return result; } { alert(msg) return result; } } Exam Entry Form Name Subject In order to work, the page needs to have access to a second HTML file called success. html. Its purpose is to test the code. It just needs four lines: Success message You entered all the data required  © OCR 2010 A452 Jan13/Jun15 5 Your assignment 1. Describe how this HTML code produces the form displayed in the browser (Fig. 1). 2. Describe how the JavaScript function performs the validation check. 3. Describe how the HTML calls the validation routine. 4. (i) Add another text field to the form to take the user’s examination number. (ii) Extend the Javascript code to validate this field to make sure that it is not left blank. (iii) Extend the Javascript code to make sure that the user’s examination number is exactly 4 digits. Produce evidence to show that you have planned, written and tested your code. 5. Add a set of radio buttons to the form to accept a level of entry such as GCSE, AS or A2. Write a function that displays the level of entry to the user in an alert box so that the level can be confirmed or rejected. Produce evidence to show that you have planned, written and tested your code. 6. Produce an evaluation of your solutions. 7. Write a conclusion about the effectiveness of JavaScript validation routines to reduce the number of errors that are made in data input.  © OCR 2010 A452 Jan13/Jun15 6 BLANK PAGE  © OCR 2010 A452 Jan13/Jun15 7 BLANK PAGE  © OCR 2010 A452 Jan13/Jun15 8 Copyright Information OCR is committed to seeking permission to reproduce all third-party content that it uses in its assessment materials. OCR has attempted to identify and contact all copyright holders whose work is used in this paper. To avoid the issue of disclosure of answer-related information to candidates, all copyright acknowledgements are reproduced in the OCR Copyright Acknowledgements Booklet. This is produced for each series of examinations, is given to all schools that receive assessment material and is freely available to download from our public website (www. ocr. org. uk) after the live examination series. If OCR has unwittingly failed to correctly acknowledge or clear any third-party content in this assessment material, OCR will be happy to correct its mistake at the earliest possible opportunity. For queries or further information please contact the Copyright Team, First Floor, 9 Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 1GE. OCR is part of the Cambridge Assessment Group; Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which is itself a department of the University of Cambridge.  © OCR 2010

The Issue Of Legalising Homosexuality And Prostitution Philosophy Essay

The Issue Of Legalising Homosexuality And Prostitution Philosophy Essay The issue of legalising of homosexuality and prostitution was investigated by the Wolfenden Committee headed by Sir John Wolfenden.   The Report claimed that it is not the duty of the law to concern itself with immorality. This gave rise to a debate on morality and social norms. Lord Devlin and Professor Hart argued extensively attempting to define morality. Is society able to enforce its own morality or ought morality to be enforced by law? Devlin appealed to the idea of societys moral fabric. He argued that the criminal law must respect and reinforce the moral norms of society in order to keep social order from unravelling. Societies disintegrate from within more frequently than they are broken up by external pressures. There is disintegration when no common morality is observed and history shows that the loosening of moral bonds is often the first stage of disintegration, so that society is justified in taking the same steps to preserve its moral code as it does to preserve its government the suppression of vice is as much the laws business as the suppression of subversive activities. Devlin argued that immorality is what every right-minded person considered immoral. Devlin argued that there could be no theoretical limit to the reach of law; no acts are none of the laws business. Breaches of the shared morality do not cause harm to other individuals in the way that murder and assault do, but none the less they harm society by undermining its moral structure. Even acts like homosexuality between consenting adults in private can threaten the existence of society, and therefore society has the right to suppress them. Devlin believed that the limits of tolerance are reached when the feelings of the ordinary person towards a particular form of conduct reaches a certain intensity of intolerance, indignation and disgust. If, for example, it is the genuine feeling of society that homosexuality is a vice so abominable that its mere presence is an offence, then society may eradicate it. Moral laws or enforcing morality is much wider than one thinks, if we base it on the survival of our society then what is classed a society? Individualism of individuals come together with common interest and form communities but not every community is common to each other. Although they might share common moral issues, there are still some immoral practises within their communities by which other standards might be considered moral. Professor Hart argued with Lord Devlin over issues of enforcing morality. Lord Devlin in his book, The Enforcement of Morals in one of his essays quotes; it argues from the majoritys rights to follow its own convictions in defending its social environment from change it opposes. Does this mean that the majority rules even if they are wrong? A society made up of like minded individuals being the majority, there, must be toleration of the maximum individual freedom that is consistent with the integrity of society. Is Lord Devlin saying that society consist s of the majority of like minded individuals and that the majority enforces their morals on every other individual that would not otherwise take part in the thinking of the majority Rule, forcing individuals to think in the same way as the majority of society. Going back to the question of whom and what is a society? Is Lord Devlin referring to the powers that have been given to certain individuals that represent society (Not necessary the majority) to enforce morality? Taking South Africa for example during the Apartheid era were a minority class enforced immorality on its majority. Lord Devlin believed that society is entitled to preserve itself without vouching for the morality that holds it together. Professor H.L.A. Hart responded to Lord Devlin, If one holds anything like a conventional notion of a society, he said, it is absurd to suggest that every practice the society views as profoundly immoral and disgusting threaten its survival, Professor Hart went on to say that this so silly as arguing that societys existence is threatened by the death of one of its members or the birth of another. Professor Hart goes on to say that Lord Devlins argument fails whether a conventional or an artificial sense of society is taken. Lord Devlin in response to Professor Hart comments, I do not assert that any deviation from a societys shared morality threatens its existence any more than I assert that any subversive activity threatens its existence. I assert that they are both activities which are capable in their nature of threatening the existence of society so that neither can be put beyond the law. The two main issues that are argued between Lord Devlin and Professor Hart is firstly the freedom of choice and secondly the privacy of morality. Lord Devlins is of the opinion that you can not have Law without morality à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦destroys freedom of conscience and is the paved road to tyranny. Devlins argument centres on what he regards as an important function of the criminal law in enforcing the generally shared moral values of a society which are associated with its important institutions. The case for the laws enforcement of societys shared morality is based on several different considerations, most of which are embodied in two doctrines which Hart has labelled the disintegration thesis and the conservative thesis respectively. According to the disintegration thesis, a shared morality is what holds a society together, and hence the enforcement of this morality is necessary to prevent society from collapsing, or at least weakening. On the other hand, the conservative thesis maintains that the majority have a right to follow their moral convictions that their moral environment is a thing of value to be defended from change. Lord Devlin in his works refers to man reason or reasoning. Is man able to be rational? This I find is important and integral makeup for human beings to be moral. Unfortunately both Devlin and Hart in their arguments are attempting to establish or determine what the glue is that holds society together? Where Professor Hart is being more liberal and believing in the very nature of man, Devlin being more conservative saying that man is not capable of being rational. Drinking, drug-taking, homosexuality, abortion, suicide and fornication may cause serious social problems if they are indiscriminately practised. But so also would birth control, or the very practice of having very large families, or even, as Devlin himself acknowledges, celibacy. It is therefore not breaches of the shared morality that certain activities can become harmful to society, and hence their being harmful does not in any way support Devlins disintegration thesis. Devlin writes of harm to society as opposed to harm to individuals, On this account harm to individuals is constituted by injury to specific individuals such as is caused by acts of homicide, assault, and robbery. On the other hand, public harm consists of the impairment of institutional practices and regulatory systems that are in the public interest. Devlins disintegration thesis, with its notion of harm to society, is really an application of the public harm principle that coercion is necessary to prevent public harm. If this is the case, then there is no disagreement of principle between Devlin and Mill, for Mills principle of harm, embraces both private and public harm. If Devlins claims are correct, then even on Mills liberty principle there is a case for the legal enforcement of the shared morality. Devlins disintegration thesis, the harm which justifies legal intervention is not identical with the mere feelings of intolerance, indignation and disgust which arise when the majority in a society learn that their moral values have been breached. However, when one moves from his disintegration to his conservative thesis, the notion of public harm is either dropped, or else it is transformed in such a manner as to be indistinguishable from the mere feelings of intolerance, indignation, and disgust in the majority. In either case the conservative thesis is incompatible with Mills liberty principle. Hart warned against the dangers of populism.   Why should the conventional morality of a few members of the population be justification for preventing people doing what they want? This is based on the theory that most peoples views are coloured by superstition and prejudice. Hart reiterated Mills harm principle, Hart pointed out that societies survive changes in basic moral views. It is absurd to suppose that when such a change occurs, to say one society has disintegrated and been succeeded by another. Both Hart and Devlin raise important issues. Devlins view is practical and focused on the majority rule. Harts is more human and individual. Dworkin suggests that we should abandon the Hart-Devlin debate and concentrate of Liberties.   If a behaviour is a Basic Liberty like sex, this should never be taken away, even if someone has a different way of doing sex e.g. R v   Brown (1993) HL, general liberties could be restricted if they cause harm.   But, it is not clear how you tell the difference between a basic and a general liberty? Thomas Hobbes explains that morality is determined by reason and that reason has as its goal self-preservation seems to lead to the conclusion that morality also has as its goal self-preservation. But it is not the self-preservation of an individual person that is the goal of morality, but of people as citizens of a state. That is, moral virtues are those habits of persons that make it rational for all other people to praise them. These habits are not those that merely lead to an individuals own preservation, but to the preservation of all; i.e., to peace and a stable society. Thus, Good dispositions are those that are suitable for entering into civil society; and good manners (that is, moral virtues) are those whereby what was entered upon can be best preserved. In the state of nature, people have no education or training, so there is continual fear, and danger of violent death, and the life of man, [is] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. But real people have been brought up in families; they are, at least to some degree, civilized persons, and how they will behave depends on how they are brought up. Hobbes does not say that society is a collection of misfits and that this is why we have all the trouble that we do a position congenial to the psychological egoist. But he does acknowledge that many also (perhaps most men) either through defect of mind, or want of education, remain unfit during the whole course of their lives; yet have they, infants as well as those of riper years, a human nature; wherefore man is made fit for society not by nature, but by education. Education and training may change people so that they act out of genuine moral motives. That is why it is one of the most important functions of the sovereign to provide for the proper training and education of the citizens. I believe that this is by far more relevant than attempting to impose laws on society to control individuals or communities. Law as Morality is just one of the many laws that differentiate between state to state but this one also differentiates from person to person. Law as morality is a law that comes from what you think is morally correct. Morality is the choices we make, and the actions we take. Moral people behave according to personal and public ethics. Immoral people deviate from established behavior. Since the purpose of laws is to condone one type of behavior and condemn another, the making of laws impacts our actions. In a situation such as a set of twins whom are connected at birth and one is going to have to die to save the other. The only thing is, is that one of the twins is healthier than the other, so which one do you kill? Law and morality play a large role here, mainly because there is a legal issue and a moral issue associates with the predicament. The reason law has a part is that after the decision is made; it will be examined legally and must be accountable for the consequences. Morali ty has its place because many will find it morally wrong to take ones life despite any justification. Morality is based off of right and wrong and good and evil and people have different opinion as to what is right and wrong due to their different upbringings and socialisation. Summary If, like Hobbes, we regard morality as applying primarily to those manners or habits that lead to peace, then his view seems satisfactory. It yields, as he notes, all of the moral virtues that are ordinarily considered such, and further, it allows one to distinguish courage, prudence, and temperance from the moral virtues. Perhaps most important, it provides, in almost self-evident fashion, the justification of morality. For what is it to justify morality but to show that reason favours it? Reason, seeking self-preservation, must favour morality, which seeks peace and a stable society. For reason knows that peace and a stable society are essential for lasting preservation. This simple and elegant justification of morality does not reduce morality to prudence; rather it is an attempt, in a great philosophical tradition stemming from Plato, to reconcile reason or rational self-interest and morality. To summarize Hobbess system: people, insofar as they are rational, want to live out their natural lives in peace and security. To do this, they must come together into cities or states of sufficient size to deter attack by any group. But when people come together in such a large group there will always be some that cannot be trusted, and thus it is necessary to set up a government with the power to make and enforce laws. This government, which gets both its right to govern and its power to do so from the consent of the governed, has as its primary duty the peoples safety. As long as the government provides this safety the citizens are obliged to obey the laws of the state in all things. Thus, the rationality of seeking lasting preservation requires seeking peace; this in turn requires setting up a state with sufficient power to keep the peace. Anything that threatens the stability of the state is to be avoided. Margaret Thatcher once declared, Theres no such thing as society, there are individual men and women and there are families. Civility is not just good manners; it is part of democracy and respecting people that are different from ourselves with whom we differ maybe even very sharply. But maintaining a balance in which we can have respect for the rights of other people who have different views.

Reworking the Environmental Movement :: Essays Papers

Reworking the Environmental Movement The first Earth Day, April 22, 1970, aimed to protest the corporate and governmental abuse of the environment. In its success, an aftermath of environmental awareness ensued rooted in the movements’ ethic of ecological education and scientific questioning of the human impact on nature. Environmentalism, an off-shoot of scientific hypotheses and ethics, created an impetus for federal legislation. In the subsequent years, Congress passed many highly successful acts committed to the protection of natural resources and human health. The objectives of environmental activists were being realized with increasing enthusiasm in the democratic system. In the 1980s during the Reagan revolution, congressional spending was forced against the proverbial firing squad. Arguments surfaced that too much public money was being spent on the environment and that the federal government should play a much reduced role in federal regulation. The conservative voice criticized the governmental restrictions on private property with the intent of environmental protection. It was seen as a breach of the Fifth Amendment that prohibits the taking of property â€Å"without just compensation† called federal â€Å"takings.† Since then, the debate has sprung an environmental policy backlash consisting of the â€Å"property rights movement,† which contends the above argument, and its sister movement, â€Å"wise-use,† that supports the privatization of natural resources. Reagan’s deregulation and laxity of environmental standards fueled the fire of the movement’s intensity in which national groups became larger and more politically driven. However, in the face of the backlash, environmentalism was caught between its ethic to protect and its struggle to be heard as an influential political voice. Thus, the movement has suffered great polarization, divided internally into camps that still exist today. One of the most dangerous aspects of the environmental movement’s political situation is its misuse of science to predict almost apocalyptic scenarios to promote their agenda. This paper intends to provide a criticism of environmental policies based on three criteria: the internal decay of environmental organizations, its undiminished reliance on broad governmental regulation, and the dangerous politicization of science to meet narrow group interests. Even the most philanthropic organizations, such as environmental groups, are plagued with heterogeneous agendas. Internal to the environmental groups’ seemingly monolithic facade are many divisions that corrupt the groups’ progress. The movement’s best known division is between the national and local groups. The national groups cover many environmental issues and are most closely tied with the federal government.

Role of Management in Improving Workplace Safety and Health :: Workplace Health and Safety

The article â€Å"Role of Management in Improving Workplace Safety and Health† (Admin, 2011) points out the importance of keeping the workplace safety and explains the role of Human Resources managers in workplace safety and health maintenance. The Human Resources managers should be more proactive regarding workplace health and safety (Admin, 2011). Although the employers' responsibilities regarding workplace safety and health are both ethically and legally undeniable, â€Å"Role of Management in Improving Workplace Safety and Health† makes a critical error by placing those responsibilities entirely on the HR Department. Furthermore, it is not possible to be more proactive because the HR department is not specialized in workplace safety and needs to fulfill other functions within the company. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a government agency that defines and regulates employer responsibility in creating and maintaining a safe and healthy en vironment for employees. Instead of inspecting, evaluating, and developing solutions by themselves, HR managers are responsible only for following OSHA rules and regulations and keep up with current trends proposed by OSHA. Training Program Development The article â€Å"Role of Management in Improving Workplace Safety and Health† claims HR managers should develop proper training programs to prevent injuries at work and defines the purpose of safety training programs as methods of improving the employees' performance abilities when it comes to preserving themselves from work-related risks (Admin, 2011). The systematical method of developing training programs is through identifying needs after inspections, accident reports, and discussions with the safety committee, followed by planning, implementation, and improvement evaluation (Admin, 2011). Although these are standard protocols in developing training programs, the article does not mention the people or institutions responsible for actual program development. The initial blame for low proactivity on the HR department and its impact on worker safety and health remains unmentioned from the introduction of the article, so it is only natural to assume that the HR department is responsible for carrying out training program development after reading that section. The HR department cannot develop training programs because OSHA and similar agencies specializing in workplace safety are responsible for developing trainings. Furthermore, the HR department cannot even perform the actual trainings because their employees are not authorized to train employees in workplace safety. The HR department is responsible only for providing training for the company's employees, so they can perform work in a safe manner in compliance with OSHA requirements (Michaels, 2010), and they cannot possibly be involved in safety training or safety training program development.

Monetary Policy in Canada :: essays papers

Monetary Policy in Canada The Bank of Canada’s Control Over the Money Supply  · The ability of the central bank to affect the money supply is critically related to its ability to determine the reserves of the commercial banking system.  · One important tool that the Bank uses for influencing the supply of money is the purchase or sale of government securities on the open market. These actions are known as open-market operations.  · Whenever the Bank is involved in either the purchase or sale of government securities, the reserves of the entire banking system are altered, and this affects the money supply.  · When the Bank of Canada buys a treasury bill or a bond from a household or a firm, it pays for the bond with a cheque drawn on itself and payable to the seller. The seller deposits this cheque in a commercial bank, which then presents the cheque to the Bank of Canada for payment.  · The bank of Canada then makes a book entry, increasing the deposit of the commercial bank at the central bank, which adds to the commercial bank’s reserves.  · Typically, when the Bank buys securities on the open market, the reserves of the commercial banks are increased. These banks can then expand deposits, thereby increasing the money supply.  · When the Bank sells a security to a household or firm, it receives in return the buyers cheque drawn against a deposit in a bank. The Bank presents the cheque to the commercial bank for payment.  · Payment is made by a book entry that reduces the bank’s deposit at the central bank, and hence reduces its reserves.  · When the central bank sells securities on the open market, the reserves of the commercial banks are decreased. These banks must in turn contract deposits, thereby decreasing the money supply.  · Extension 29-1  · Cash management - the shifting of government deposits between the Bank of Canada and the chartered banks – is a major tool used by the Bank of Canada in its day-to-day operations.  · When the Bank transfers government deposits, it influences the reserves of the banking system relative to its target level of reserves, thereby inducing an expansion or contraction of commercial bank lending and thus an expansion or contraction of the money supply.  · Open-market operations and control of government deposits give the Bank of Canada potent weapons for affecting the size of commercial bank reserves and thus for affecting the money supply.  · Though the details of an open-market operation differ from

Is Advertising Harmful? Essay

For many years when it started, advertising was a divine gift to the mass media. It embodied the epitome of information superhighway during the time when it was starting as it allowed consumers to get information about products and services at the comfort of their homes, while reading the newspaper for instance, or perhaps while watching the television or listening to the radio. Advertisers, however, were not content on how they can reach consumers and thus initiated ways in ensuring that every centavo they spend in advertising will pay off and entice consumers to buy. Competition also grew as time passed by and today there are too many options for consumers to choose from. This put pressure in the advertisers. The need to sell pushed them to find ways to sell. Oftentimes, the advertising is the best medium to do so given the wide reach and reception that it has. This all led to the harmful effects that many scholars and researchers claim that advertising has. The harms of advertising can be found in its effects in the media, economy, in children and families, and human behavior in general. For one, the media has become advertiser-driven. While before the media’s thrust is to entertain and inform its audiences, it has now become a repository of information of advertisers, their products, and their services. Many shows, in fact, have now been created for the benefit of advertisers and to increase their selling points. There are television programs as well that are created entirely to market a single product, which creates monopoly against products who do not have the capacity such as finances to produce such advertising shows. Economically, this subtle monopoly has lead many small businesses to close down and further empower the primacy of the larger competitors. (Harms and Kellner, n. d. ) These harmful effects are further ratified by the intrusion and repetitiveness of advertisements. From the time one wakes up, eats, rides to work or school, and goes back home to sleep, he is bombarded with advertiser information. Even going to the public restroom is not an exception ever since loo ads became a global trend. (Harms and Kellner, n. d. ) Even the telephone has become an avenue for advertisers. Not only one among many have been caught by telemarketers during dinner, or even during Sunday lunch. The good thing about this is that employment increased, despite the turnover, in telemarketing. The bad thing is that this type of advertising is intrusive and unethical. Even private email addresses are testimonies to the intrusion that advertisers will waive for the sake of trying to sell. Children are also among the most affected by the harms of advertising. According to Dittman (2004), an average child is exposed to 40,000 advertising materials annually. This figure includes all television commercials alone. There are other advertisements aired over the radio, in printed materials, and in fact wherever one looks. Even the schools have welcomed advertisers in campuses, though many institutions stay watchful on the advertisers and advertisements that they allow. Furthermore, studies show that just one exposure to an advertisement, especially in children, can make a register in the brain and even entice buying. This can influence children and adults as well to shop impulsively which has greatly affected consumerism and private lives across the globe. For many instances, children will also nag their parents into buying them things that they saw in advertisements, or for money to buy these things. Even habits can be altered. Studies show that a child’s eating behavior can change drastically when exposed to junk food ads. Exposure to junk food ads alongside healthy food ads is not a solution as well, for children will remember junk food ads more. (Dittman, 2004) In an effort to combat these effects, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association, and Kaiser Family Foundation has lead many organizations who are after stricter regulations in advertising. The proponents enjoin groups with the similar vision and mission to create and propose ways to protect the society, highlighting on children, against the harmful effects of advertising. Stricter laws, proper monitoring, regulating bodies, and proper education are among the things viewed to solve the dilemma. (Dittman, 2004) Adult supervision is another thing to appeal for. Today, with kids having private access to the internet, television, radio, and reading materials in their bedrooms or schools, away from the eyes of their parents, they are put into a situation where they are not guided. In such cases, they receive information as facts and even if there is a chance for them to weigh between right and wrong, between positive and negative, there is more probability that the influence that is imprinted on them will affect them. If the advertisement is negative, then the effect will equally be negative. (Dittman, 2004) Yet not all advertisements are intrusive and harmful. (Harms and Keller, n. d. ) There are advertisements that show good behavior and influence people towards the positive. If at all always harmful, many advertisers downplay the bad knowing that audiences will not buy products which have negative impressions on them. (Harmful effects of advertising can be indirect, delayed, and cumulative, n. d. ) This care that advertisers take helps them increase their sales more profoundly. However, it is still a fact that advertising affects the human behavior in general and radiates these effects to their families and to the society ultimately. Advertising is a big leap for the mass media, and it is wrong to eliminate advertising at this point, even if it is torn between the good and the bad. The right thing to do would be to subdue these advertisements and keep the information positive and varied. A good look at psychology, economics, and communication industries will also help. In the end, good advertisers win the game. References Dittman M. 2004. Protecting children from advertising http://www. apa. org/monitor/jun04/protecting. html Harmful effects of advertising can be indirect, delayed, and cumulative. n. d. http://www. uta. edu/huma/illuminations/kell6. htm Harms, J. and Kellner, D. n. d. Toward a critical theory of advertising. http://webserve. govst. edu/pa/Advertising/ABCs/harmful. htm.

A Linguistic Analysis of Obama’s Inaugural Address

Rhythm and Rhetoric: A Linguistic Analysis of Obama’s Inaugural Address Liilia Batluk Supervisor: Stuart Foster School of Humanities Halmstad University Bachelor’s thesis in English Acknowledgment My appreciations to my supervisor Stuart Foster for very helpful advice during the research. Abstract In this essay I shall analyze Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address, January, 2009 from the perspective of various linguistic techniques. More specifically, I shall propose and focus on the idea that the composition of the speech has an aim to create a unity of the speaker and the audience in order to deliver the message.Moreover, the speaker maintains the atmosphere of unity throughout the speech, so that the speech produces an effect when the audience becomes a co-author of it. My thesis will also discuss some aspects of persuasive strategies employed in the speech from those dating back as long as Ancient Greece to temporal discourses. The aim is to analyze how the use of a number of linguistic approaches creates a speech which senses an agreement and co-operation between the orator and the audience. Table of Contents Acknowledgement Abstract †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. . Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 1 2. Context: historical, cultural and social circumstances †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 2. 1 Social and cultural background †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 2. 2 Historical/political context . †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 3. Methodology †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4. Rhetorical and linguistic strategies †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 7 4. 1. The use of personal deixis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 4. 2. Rhythm †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 4. 3. Parallelism and foregrounding †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦. .13 4. . 1. Parallelism – syntactic and lexical†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 15 4. 3. 2. Parallelism and alliteration †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 16 4. 4. Rhetoric: lexical chain for the planned changes †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 17 4. 5. Citing other orators †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 19 4. 6. Elements of preaching †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. .20 5. Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 21 Works Cited †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 23 Appendix 1. Introduction This essay’s aim is to analyze Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address, January, 2009 applying various linguistic approaches.The linguistic devices used in the speech will be in focus in my research. It is a qualitative research, that is to say, the primary data is a verbal protocol, whose intertextuality – in the aspects of meaning and meaning production – will be analyzed with the help of such approaches as content analysis, critical theory and discourse analysis. I will try to unfold the sophisticated linguistic composition of various techniques lying in fields of semantics and rhetoric, employed by Obama and argue that the coherent use of them produces the desired effect in the delivery of the message.A Presidential Inaugural Address is a ceremonial speech, made by a newly elected president of the USA, marking a new Presidential term. The Oxford Guide to the United States Government states that a speech â€Å"sets the tone for the administration† and that â€Å"presidents usually stress unity and bipartisanship after what is sometimes a divisive and bitter Presidential campaign† (â€Å"inauguration, Presidential†). There are no regulations concerning the length or issues of the speech, it is only language which is specified by the Constitution.The richness of the English language is employed to produce the first Presidential address to the nation and the world, the speech which is in focus of the world-wide mass media. An inauguration ceremony takes place at the Capitol on January, 20 and is usually attended by a large crowd, to which President speaks to. Presidents usually have a prepared text of the speech. Obama seemed to have learned his by heart and often appealed to the audience in the form of life performance interrupted by applause, which is indicated in the transcript.The term performance, introduced by Chomsky, will be used in this paper since it describes â€Å"the way the individual goes about using language† (Mey 5). The term reflexes the issue that I will analyze, that is to say, not only the words used by the speaker as a lexical register, but also the context in which the speech is situated. Having been skillfully coordinated, they create the 1 performance that aims the delivery of the message. I will focus on the structural and functional properties of the language, the combination of which enables the speaker to achieve the goal of the performance.In chapter 2, I will introduce the historical and cultural context in which the speech was made. Context is defined as â€Å"circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or an idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood† (Oxford Diction ary of English, context noun). Defining the term context as dynamic, Mey states that it â€Å"is about understanding what things are for; it is also what gives our utterance their true pragmatic meaning† (41). The context is vital for analysis of any speech, particularly made in public.I will draw attention to the historical, cultural and social circumstances during the election campaign, which preceded the Presidential address. In subchapter 2. 1, the cultural and social background of Obama will be described. During a presidential campaign, any personal details of a candidate may be significant; they indicate the electors’ preferences and, possibly, expectations. A President’s address, in turn, is based on audience’s expectations. That is why, I think, this aspect should be taken into account while analyzing the speech.The historical/political context will be introduced in subchapter 2. 2 and will be devoted to the historical, political, economic and soc ial aspects in American society, the complexity of which made it possible for a colored man to become President of the USA for the first time in the country’s history. This subchapter also provides information about certain features of AfroAmerican traditional sermons, which, arguably, have influenced the president’s address. Chapter 3 describes methodology of this work, that is to say, general approaches in this research. 2Chapter 4 is devoted to the analysis of the speech from rhetorical and linguistic approaches. Since the address is a speech made in public, a rhetoric study, which is tightly linked to the use of linguistic devices, is worth doing. Subchapter 4. 1 is focused on the use of personal deixis in the speech and their role in aiming the delivery of the message. The choice of deixis, I will state, is carefully and skillfully made in order to foreground or background particular objects, so that to consider them appearing in more or less favorable aspects. In subchapter 4. , I will rearrange some extracts from the speech into stanzas – the structure of writing related to poetry – which I find to have strong links in the address. Referring to theories in linguistics dealing with parallelism, didactic poetry, rhythm and metrics I will try to prove the idea that the speaker uses rhythm as a tool for creating an emotionally agreeable atmosphere and an easily memorized message in his performance. In subchapter 4. 3, the role of parallelism and foregrounding in the complex of the linguistic devices employed in the speech will be analyzed.They are the tools which strengthen or weaken objects in the chosen extract, depending on the goal which the speaker sets up. The subchapter is divided into two sub-subchapters, focused on syntactic and lexical forms of parallelism – 4. 3. 1 and the relationship with alliteration – 4. 3. 2. Rhetoric will be in focus in chapter 4. 4, particularly, the lexical register which reflects the intention to introduce forthcoming changes in the new administration’s policy.The attention will be drawn to the choice of words related to the innovative projects, which appear to be as presumable as the change of generations. In his speech, Obama cites other famous orators both directly and indirectly. Chapter 4. 5 draws parallels between some points in the address and speeches of Dr Martin Luther King and Rabbi Joachim Prinz. 3 In the inaugural address, as well as in his other speeches, Obama uses elements of preaching, which have already been noticed in mass media and academic studies.Chapter 4. 6 draws attention to the use of words from the Bible, Afro-American traditional sermon and the role of transcendental theme in political rhetoric in the USA. In chapter 5, I will connect the discussed issues on the linguistic devices employed in the speech, which aim to maximize the effectiveness of the delivery of the message. The discussion on this subject will be presented here. Chapter 6 is the conclusion, where the analyzed aspects of various linguistic discourses will be summarized.I will conclude that their combination makes a significant contribution to the success of the speech made in public. 2. Context: the historical, cultural and social circumstances The social and historical context plays a significant role in understanding the message of the speech and analyzing it. The term context is defined as: those parts of a text preceding and following any particular passage, giving it a meaning fuller or more identifiable that if it were read in isolation. The context of any statement may be understood to comprise . . . he biographical, social, cultural, and historical circumstances in which it is made (including the intended audience or reader). (The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, context) In the following chapter I will describe the social and cultural aspects of the context preceding the performing of the Inaugural Address. 4 2. 1 Social and cultural background In November 2008, Barack Obama became the first African American president in the history of the United States. His electoral victory was considered to be a breakthrough in the social and political aspects of the American society.He embodied the dream of millions of his fellow citizens to come true, including Martin Luther King Jr. , with whom Obama is often compared and whose principles he maintains. BBC News stated that â€Å"for many . . . Barack Obama’s presidency will be the culmination of Dr King’s dream† (1). The day before the inauguration, Obama drew attention to the resemblance when he â€Å"helped to decorate a community project in Washington in memory of Dr King† and used his idea for a deeper alikeness by saying that â€Å"we resolve that as we walk, we must walk together.And as we go forward in the work of renewing the promise of this nation, let’s remember King’s lesson – that out separate dream s are really one†. (BBC News, 1) It is remarkable that, besides the fact that Obama is biracial, religion is said not to have played any particular role in his childhood, since his father had no particular influence on him and his mother was â€Å"an agnostic humanist†, while â€Å"the grandparents who helped to raise him were not religious† (F. I. Greenstein, 209). The President represents a large number of the Americans in the sense of his ethnic and social background.Being dark skinned, he was brought up by his white maternal grandparents apart from a few years when he lived and attended primary school in Indonesia. Obama later wrote that, during his youth he experienced â€Å"a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect† (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 2007). Here could be mentioned the role of his wife, Michelle, a genuine representative of the African American population in the electoral campaign, but further discussion of this is beyond the remit o f this essay. 5 2. 2.Historical / political context The presidency of an African American person would probably not have been possible a few decades ago; many people claimed that they would never have dreamed that they would see a dark skinned man becoming a president of the United States. Obama realizes this, having said that he is a son of a man who â€Å"less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant† (Obama, 5). A new generation has grown up since Martin Luther King Jr. gathered millions of people for peaceful marching to Washington in order to campaign for the identical rights for all races.The political situation is also an important aspect of Obama’s victory. The former president’s administration involved the country in a wearisome war with Iraq, an unpopular war from which the country seems unable to extricate itself. Along with a military mission in Afghanistan, it has cost an enormous amount of money to the tax payers. On to p of that, the deep recession in the economy, which started at the time of the election debates and which is said to be the worst one since the Great Depression, in a general understanding, damaged the popularity of the Republicans.A new, â€Å"fresh face† of a relatively young candidate appeared on the political stage at this moment, who â€Å"promise[d] healing† instead of fighting. Not only did he promise changes, but he also spoke a language of young people, which associates with ability, opportunity and making new crucial decisions (Capone, 2972). The candidate, Barack Obama, made a â€Å"meteoric rise to national prominence† (Greenstein, 206). 3. Methodology This essay’s research is qualitative and the speech will be analyzed by employing a number of theoretical approaches in the fields of semantics, pragmatics and rhetorical criticism.The use of various linguistic devices employed in the speech, which contribute to the aim of any 6 speech and, part icularly, a public one held by a politician, will be examined. Thus, the aim is to analyze the complexity of the devices in the context and the intertextuality, which means that â€Å"all texts are . . . composed of other (pre-existing) texts . . . held together in a state of constant interaction . . . [hence] all text exist in a state of partiality and inter-dependency with other texts† (A Dictionary of Critical Theory, â€Å"intertextuality†).The format of C-essay does not present the opportunity to examine the whole speech from all possible approaches, hence, I will first analyze some excerpts from it in a framework of singular notions related to the theoretical basis of the above mentioned fields and then I will draw parallels between the notions. Roderick P. Hart’s conceptions on modern rhetorical criticism and Jacob L. Mey’s on pragmatics issues will be widely considered while completing the work on this paper. I will also refer to a study on Barack Obama’s South Carolina speech by A. Capone.The prepared text of President-elect Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address, as provided by the Presidential Inaugural Committee, is in the Appendix and referred to according to its numbered pages. 4. Rhetorical and Linguistic Strategies In his performance, Obama employs a complex of rhetorical and linguistic strategies, which allow the speaker to introduce and deliver the message in favorable context. Analyzing rhetoric, Hart says that â€Å"human history has been written by great persons authoring great orations for social betterment. Often, these great statements have seemed more poetic than pragmatic, as satisfying to the heart as to the head†(4).In order to distinguish a poem from a narrative story or any other type of message, I will try to highlight rhythm by employing a number of linguistic devices including metre and parallelism. Simpson defines metre as â€Å"an organized pattern of strong and weak syllables† and 7 its â€Å"repetition into a regular phrasing across a line of verse† (15). Stanza is a product of correspondence of and â€Å"the length, metrical scheme and rhythmical pattern [of the verse lines] with those of at least one other such group of verse lines in a poem† (The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature, â€Å"stanza†).An extensive use of pronouns ‘we’, ‘our’ and ‘us’ in combination with a particular lexical register aims to foreground the desired effect of unity and communion the speaker and the audience. 4. 1. The use of personal deixis Deictic expressions, known as deixis, can be interpreted only in the context in which they are used. The word deictic derives from the Greek language and is used for pointing a subject. I will focus on the use of deixis employed in the speech which, I will argue, creates an effect of unity on one side and â€Å"outsiders† on the other.In his analysis of Obamaà ¢â‚¬â„¢s electoral speech, Capone indicates that â€Å"a speaker is responsible for the positions or opinions advanced, but need not necessarily be the animator or even the author† (2967). He refers to Goffman for definitions of â€Å"a principal in the legalistic sense†, which involves imposing â€Å"self-identification† as we not I. (2967). By doing so, the speaker â€Å"become[s] a representative of the people† (2967). This pattern of seemingly speaking on behalf of the audience is focused upon in the present chapter.The use of person deixis in the speech, in these circumstances, is worth investigating. Unlike his previous public performances, where Obama aimed to convince the audience that he was the right candidate for the position of a congressman or, later, a president, here he is a victor and addressing his message from a position of Head of State. He, probably, does not need to put his personality in focus any longer, but rather needs the support for his future challenges. In this case the pronoun I, which was used generously in Obama’s previous 8 peeches, emerges only three times in his inaugural address in its beginning: â€Å"I stand here today . . . I thank President Bush . . . Today I say to you . . . â€Å" (Obama 1). The first person pronoun â€Å"I† does not appear any more in the performance. Obama favors the third person plural pronouns we, us and our(s) in the rest of the speech the pronouns which play their significant role in creating a sense of unity of the speaker with the audience. We, us and our(s) are employed 61, 20 and 65 times respectively and are, probably, the most often used words of the speech.The speaker does not distance himself from the American people; instead, everything the president proclaims further seems to be issued by us – the people of America. According to Capone, â€Å"a political speech is in itself an interpretation of the audience’s feelings and needsà ¢â‚¬  that allow â€Å"the audience to build its own intentionality† while a politician reflexes them (2969) . The above mentioned pronouncements are employed as the inclusive ones throughout the text.The speaker, in this case, is a member of the society to which he speaks. Whether he speaks of the previous achievements or the future plans, the orator claims them to be a commonality, which means that he shares responsibility for everything being said with the audience. As a result, the audience seems to become a co-author of the speech, providing that they approve of it, and they do so by frequent applause. Thus, the president speaks on behalf of the American people: â€Å"On this day we gather . . . we come to proclaim . . †. The addresser has a message to his opponents, and the pronouns they, their, those and some are served as if to indicate a distance between the American people, of whose behalf Obama speaks , and those â€Å"who question the scale of our [the Am ericans] ambitions† (Obama 3) . The victory in the election, presumably, allows the new president to associate himself with the majority of the nation and to look down at â€Å"the cynics [who] fail to understand [is] that the ground has shifted beneath them† (Obama 3).By carefully chosen pronouns, the speaker foregrounds the Americans, whose ideas he articulates and backgrounds the rest, who â€Å"have 9 forgotten what this country has already done† (Obama 3). Having repeated by then we and our dozens of times and created a panoramic picture of the nation’s achievements, the present state and the future challenges, Obama has little difficulty opposing and disparaging â€Å"those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame† ( Obama 2). 4. 2. Rhythm Among the complex of the devices that Obama operates in the speech, I will argue in the following sub-chapter, the rhythm plays a significant role. Rhythm contributes to de livering the message in a most effective and agreeable way. Ancient Greeks used didactic poetry, not as a literary genre but, rather, to give instructions applying to it â€Å"as being more easily remembered than prose† (The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, â€Å"didactic poetry†). Moreover, poetry brings sentimental feelings which either thrusts disturbing thoughts or stresses them, depending on the context of the text.Words often have double meaning and can be interpreted differently. In poetry one can â€Å"play† with words employing their phonetic features, metaphors and sonic effect. In the following excerpt from the speech, the first line in the first four stanzas (the fourth one, however, has a conjunction â€Å"and†, which neither disturbs the rhythm nor change the meaning) starts with the same phrase â€Å"we will† followed by a verb phrase. The other three lines follow the main idea expressed in the first one. They are si milar both rhythmically and metrically.The last stanza is different in the structure and introverted, since â€Å"the thought veers from the main theme and then returns thereto† (Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), â€Å"Parallelism†, 2/4). Instead of starting, it finishes with the same construction â€Å"we will† followed by a verb phrase. In the speech, a vestige of a poem emerges from time to time, both in terms of rhythm and lyrical contexts of the word related to nature (as the Romantic poets would do) for describing 10 practical, moreover, technological purposes.I will try to rearrange an extract into stanzas, where each one (except the last one) consists of four lines and is, therefore, called quatrain (The Concise Oxford, â€Å"stanza†). The last stanza brings a conclusion; and the last verse in the stanza sounds as if it were a final chord in a piece of music: We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our comme rce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost.We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools, and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. 11 All this we can do. And all this we will do. (Obama 2) The sun and winds are invoked to symbolise man’s need for the energy necessary to drive the economy. Obama does not speak a ‘dry’ language of economists; he prefers the language of poets. Hart compares an orator – a persuader – with a poet being â€Å"artistically creative.Both work with symbols to breathe life into ideas† and use â€Å"their imaginations to engage their audiences imaginations† (10). The meaning of every sentence rests beyond the bare words – it is metaphorical. Analysing arguments, Hart refers to Toulmi n’s work, applying to the term major claims as: a) the broadest, most encompassing, statements made by the speaker, b) lie at the level of abstraction higher than all other statements the speaker makes, c) represent what the speaker hopes will become the â€Å"residual message† in listeners minds (i. . , the main thoughts remembered when the details of the message have been forgotten), and d) are frequently repeated or restated in the message† (Hart 98). In the extract above, every sentence contains a major claim, according to its definition. The message does not consist of specific words having definitive meaning of the work planned; they are, rather, â€Å"the broadest, most encompassing†. What seems to strengthen the message is its rhythmical construction and repetition.Unlike the ‘prosaic’ parts of the speech, where the listener does not need to employ their imagination, the poetical ones require it in order to fill the gap in the meanings between â€Å"the sun and the winds†, which should â€Å"fuel our cars†, or work out the way â€Å"to wield technology’s wonders† (Obama 2). The structures of these stanzas follow the rules of synthetic parallelism, where â€Å"the theme is worked up by the building of thought upon similar thought† (Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), â€Å"Parallelism†, 2/4).These linguistic tools contribute to the speaker’s foregrounding of the idea of forthcoming changes by repeating the same or similar syntactic structures along with the 12 same phrase â€Å"we will†. Lexically, the stanzas also correspond. The theme of building and reconstruction the country’s economy progresses throughout the block with a final ‘chord’ where Obama seems to have changed his pre-presidential slogan â€Å"yes, we can† to â€Å"yes, we will†. 4. 3.Parallelism and foregrounding Parallelism is a product of â€Å"balanced arrangemen t achieved through repetition of the same syntactic form† (The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, â€Å"parallelism†). Analyzing the text, one can find both syntactic and lexical parallels. Lexical parallelism is an effect of repetition of the same words or certain relationships between words, mostly belonging to the same word group, such as verbs or nouns. Giving examples of parallelism, scholars often refer to poetry and rhetoric.It seems that what they have in common is their appeal to the listener’s emotions rather than pragmatism. Foregrounding is based on â€Å"giving unusual prominence to one element or property of the text† (The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, â€Å"foregrounding†). The devices such as repetition and giving a favorable syntactic position are commonly employed for creating a foreground effect. The background is, hence, a weaker and significantly less important component in the text is used as a tool for stressing foreg rounding.I would like to suggest that the following piece of speech consists of lexical parallels. To start with, the nouns ‘strength’ and ‘weakness’ are antonyms; by putting them in the same line the speaker creates the effect of parallelism based on contradiction. He continuously contrasts and contradicts the rights and wrongs in the text until ‘goodness’ eventually prevails over ‘evil’. For we know that our patchwork heritage is strength, not a weakness. 13 We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers.We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from the dark chapter stronger and united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itsel f; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace. (Obama 4) It is interesting that by contradicting and drawing parallels, the speaker achieves the effect of foregrounding.Before pointing out the goal, the speaker explains the reason for it and, hence, prepares the ground for the challenge, which seems achievable afterwards. Lexical and syntactic repetitions strengthen both the background and foreground of the text. Speaking about the diversity of the country, Obama uses the effect of antithesis making contrasts when mentioning the religious groups. The diversity of religions evolves from being simply contrastive, which might in other contexts be interpreted as divisive and, therefore, a problematic issue, to cohesion and solidarity of the purpose.Those elements, which rest on the side of ‘meanness’, fade away under the pressure of ‘goodness’. The following compounds of phrases seem predictable then: â€Å"hatreds – pass . . . tribe – dissolve . . . humanity – reveal† (Obama 4). 14 4. 3. 1Parallelism – syntactic and lexical The following extract is an example of both syntactic and lexical parallelism. The sentences begin with and are stressed by a prepositional phrase â€Å"for us†. It is followed by the noun phrase consisting of the pronoun â€Å"they†, which is followed by two verb phrases joined by a conjunction â€Å"and†.The sentences are not alike in the structures. That is to say, although their first verb phrase is intransitive, in the first two sentences, it is post-modified by a noun phrase and a prepositional phrase respectively. In the third sentence, the same prepositional phrase post-modifies the two intransitive verb phrases â€Å"fought† and â€Å"died†. These verbs have related meaning where fighting causes dying. In the second sentence, the phrases â€Å"toiled in sweatshops† and â€Å"plowed the hard earth† ar e quasi-synonymous as they both mean doing hard work.In addition to the parallelism, the repetition and the heading position of the phrase ‘for us’ produces the effect of foregrounding. The repetition and relationship of the phrases â€Å"they† and â€Å"for us† make the message of the passage more coherent. Everything â€Å"they† did, they did â€Å"for us†. In this case, what â€Å"forebearers† [sic] did, is not signified merely as a list of jobs, but rather as the effort they made for â€Å"a future generation†. The language devices serve as a promoter of the message here. For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life.For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; 15 endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth. For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh. (Obama 2) 4. 3. 2. Parallelism and alliteration The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms defines the term alliteration as â€Å"the repetition of the same sounds – usually initial consonants of words or of stressed syllables – in any sequence of neighboring words†, remarking that in some poetry â€Å"alliteration rather than rhythm is the chief principle of repetition† (â€Å"alliteration†).The following block of supposed poetry contains both of the devices alliteration and parallelism. The adjectives â€Å"less† and â€Å"last† are not only repeated in the same stanza, but they also start with the same consonant â€Å"l†, consist of a single syllable and have similarity in the meaning. They both related to the tendency to minimize something to an unimportant level. Although the two first stanzas begin with the same pronoun â€Å"our†, they differ in the choice of linguistic tools. The effect of parallelism of the following two stanzas rests upon contradiction.Alliter ation is more vaguely expressed in the words starting with consonant â€Å"p† such as â€Å"pat†, â€Å"protecting†, â€Å"putting† and â€Å"passed† in the second stanza, and is absent in the third one. These two stanzas contain verbs and/or verb phrases having opposite meaning; they contradict each other and the parallelism is based on contradiction. Every stanza consists of a single, complex sentence, where intensity is accumulating in the first two lines in stanza 1 and 2 (in the third stanza that is line 1), and accelerating to its climax in the following line 3 and 4 relatively.Calling for action, Obama stresses the last syllables in 16 phrasal verbs – verbs of action pick up and dust off. The choice of these multi-word verbs obviously reflects the desire to emphasize the need for action: up and off associate with impulse and movement. The tension is growing from the first to the last verse with the conclusion coming as a final chord: Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished.But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions – that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. (Obama 2) 4. 4. Rhetoric: lexical chain for the planned changes Hart defines the word lexicon as â€Å"words that are unique to a group or individual and that have specific rhetorical power . . . [;] by using preferred words a speaker can establish the right 17 to address the audience† (156).Considering the fact that rhetoric is a persuasive use of language, Hart is insistent that â€Å"rhetoric is an art . . . [which] creates a story out of nothing, using symbols to bring to life feelings we had forgotten we had, plans we had not yet considered† (7). He continues: â€Å"t he story rhetoric tells is always a story with a purpose; it is never told for its own sake† (7). In the following chapter, I will draw attention to some rhetorical techniques which contribute to the delivery of the message.More precisely, they are two of five â€Å"basic moves† as Hart define them: â€Å"(2) the speaker must come to be regarded as a helper rather than an exploiter; (3) the speaker must convince the listener that new choices need to be made† (7). In his address, Obama proclaims that the â€Å"time of standing pat . . . has surely passed† and the nation is to â€Å"begin again the work on remaking America† (2). In order to indicate forthcoming changes in various areas and to stress the novelties planned, he parallels them with ‘a new generation’ and ‘a new age’.He makes a specific lexical chain – the choice of vocabulary in order to indicate the expected changes in the society – whose aim is to create the atmosphere of unity and agreement similar to the ideal American family. The theme of ‘unity’ goes throughout the speech, and that is done by a carefully generated lexical chain as well as repetition. The feeling of unity is constructed in the very beginning – in the greeting: â€Å"My fellow citizens†, where the president identifies himself as one belonging to the society, rubbing away the invisible border between the stage and the crowd.The following step is to design the image of the nation as a family, where the ideals and traditions are transmitted from generation to generation- the word which is used quite extensively in the address. Obama creates ‘a solid ground’ for a consensus of the main issues with the Americans from the very beginning by claiming that â€Å"We the People have remained faithful to the ideas of our forebearers [sic], and true to our founding documents† (1). This idea is developed and reused in such a way that it reappears in the very end of the speech, where Obama cites the 8 words of â€Å"our (the Americans) father† â€Å"in the year of America’s birth† calling for unity and commitment. 4. 5. Citing other orators Obama has numerous times been compared with the black American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, and he himself draws attention to such a comparison. The day before the inauguration BBC News reported that â€Å"he reflected that Tuesday’s inauguration ceremony would take place on the same mall where many thousands gathered in 1963 to hear Martin Luther King’s lesson â€Å"I have A Dream† speech† (1).In fact, there was another political leader, who made his speech on the same day just before Dr King did – the national president of the American Jewish Congress Rabbi Joachim Prinz, whose words Obama cites and whose message he reintroduces. â€Å"The time . . . has come† phrase is excerpted from Dr Pri nz’s speech. His thought of â€Å"the time . . . for us to work together, for it is not enough to hope together – for it is not enough to pray togetherâ€Å" is edited and reused in Obama’s speech (Prinz, Civil rights). The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit† is the phrase which not only resembles Dr Prinz’s but proclaims a new â€Å"reaffirming† cycle in American history. Obama’s style of addressing the audience is also resembles Prinz’s. They both start with a rather formal address, changing then to â€Å"direct address . . . , a feature often found in personal correspondence†, such as Prinz’s â€Å"our fathers taught us†, â€Å"our children, yours and mine†, â€Å"we share† and Obama’s â€Å"our forebearers†, â€Å"our Founding Fathers†, â€Å"men and women and children of every race and every faith†, â€Å"we remain†. 9 4. 6. The elements of p reaching According to discourses of cultural criticism, Obama’s rhetorical style may be described as an American one. Hart refers to a number of scholars when stating that â€Å"one of the most distinctive things about American rhetoric is its curious combination of Transcendental and Pragmatic themes† where he continues â€Å"the transcendent strain in discourse gives it an â€Å"elevating† tone, the sort of tone one hears on inauguration day in the United States†(240). On this day, the president might feel inclined to mention â€Å"the words of Scripture†.He avoids favouring one single religion by referring to â€Å"scripture† rather than the Bible, which relates to any religion in the world and, although he cites Bible, the values he mentions are universal: the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that the noble ide a, passed from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. Obama 2) In that block, one can feel the growing tension, which comes as a climax in poetry and culmination in a traditional, Afro-American sermon. It has elements of Gospel, where rhythm changes its pattern while the main idea is repeated. Obama’s style of public performance has been compared with preaching, particularly that which belongs to â€Å"the tradition of AfroAmerican preaching discourse†. Capone notices that â€Å"among the characteristics which parallel Obama’s speech style with Afro-American religious traditions is rhythmic structure, sensitivity and ‘elevation’ (2970). 0 Hart argues that the Americans are â€Å"a nation that seems to need a Holy Purpose for doing almost anything† (240). Speaking on politics and business, Obama â€Å"strengthens† his states b y referring to the Bible again – â€Å"hatreds shall someday pass . . . the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve . . . our common humanity shall reveal itself â€Å"(4). Transcendental theme supports the pragmatic thoughts, in other words, two themes collaborate so that the message maximizes its efficiency. 5. ConclusionThe analysis of Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address suggests that the speech was made by a skilful orator, who employed various linguistic and rhetoric devices for the efficiency of the address. They are tightly linked together and, at times, it is hard to separate one from another as they are often multifunctional. I would like to suggest that the high level of education of the speaker was helpful when setting various tools in collaboration, so that the use of them produced the effect of a desirable message, the one which the audience accepted as if it had come from it self.Learning from Ancient Greeks, President uses didactic poetry: persuading, convinci ng and easy-to-be-remembered rhythmic style when addressing to a wide audience of the Americans. Didactic poetry rests upon repetition and parallelism, which are the basic tools for creating an easily memorized message. Parallelism is, in turn, a part of a linguistic field of semantics. Focusing on parallelism employed in the speech, I have found that personal pronouns play a significant role in creating a foregrounding effect, which is an aspect of pragmatics. All these devices positively correlate with a rhetorical style, which the orator chose for the speech.The event took place at a historical mall, where some of the most prominent American orators have spoken to large audiences. In his speech, Obama stresses the strong connections between generations which he, as he states, is to endure, and employs other orators words in order to support the statement. 21 In an attempt to cover the most important values of the American people, Obama appeals to those which rest upon family and religion. He cites the Bible but quite carefully and, having pointed out the diversity of religions represented in the country, applies his words to universal, ‘transcendental truth’.He also creates an emotional atmosphere of a nation as a family, which suggests unity and support, the desire for a better future and a readiness for working hard on it for the next generation’s sake. The lexical register along with the foregrounding help to fulfill the task in a favorable view. The newly elected president needs his people’s support for the forthcoming reforms, which he has planned to carry out. The unity of the Americans, in order to receive their advanced approval, seems to be the aim of the President’s address to the nation. His speech is persuasive, but hardly aggressive.By using linguistic techniques, which have been employed by a number of the nation’s â€Å"Fathers† and which have proved to be successful and appreciated both by the audience present and forthcoming generations, Obama announces his address to his people in a favorable way. That is to say, the extensive use of pronouns ‘we’ and ‘our’ in combinations with the lexical chain discussed above, affects the speech in such a way that the audience, to some extent, might almost be considered to be participants in it and the President performs as a representative of the people.The various linguistic and rhetorical devices suggest that the orator articulates the ideas of the audience and that as a president, he represents the interests of his people. 22 Works Cited —. A Dictionary of Critical Theory by Ian Buchanan. Oxford University Press, 2010. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Hogskolan I Halmstad. Web. 30 Mar. 2011 Akmajian, Adrian, et al. Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication. 5th ed. The USA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001. Print. Bazzanella, Carla. †Redundancy, re petition, and intensity in discourse. † Language Sciences 33 (2011): 243-254.Web. 03 Feb. 2011. BBC News, â€Å"Obama honours Martin Luther King†, BBC. BBC News, 20 Jan 2009 Web. 29 Mar 2011. Capone, Alessandro. â€Å"Barack Obama’s South Carolina Speech† Journal of Pragmatics. 42 (2010): 2964-2977. Web. Greenstein, Fred I. The Presidential Difference. 3rd ed. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2009. Print. Hart, P. Roderick. Modern Rhetorical Criticism. Upper Saddle River: Allyn&Bacon A Pearson Education Company, 1997. Print. Lash, Scott. Another Modernity. 1998. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1999. Print. Leanne, Shel. Say It Like Obama: The Power of Speaking with Purpose and Vision.USA: RR Donnelley, 2009. Print. Mey, Jacob L. Pragmatics: An Introduction. 1993. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2002. Print. Obama, Barack. †Bararack Obama’s Inaugural Address†. The Inaugural Address, Washington, The Capitol, 20 Jan. Th e Washington Post. The Washington Post, 20 Jan. 2009. Web. 10 May 2011. —Oxford Dictionary of English, Ed. Angus Stevenson. Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Hogskolan I Halmstad. Web. 17 Feb. 2011 23 Prinz, Joachim. â€Å"I speak to you as an American Jew†, Web. 4 Apr 2011. http://joachimprinz. com/civilrights. htm/. –â€Å"Punahou left lasting impression on Obama. † The Associated Press. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 2007. Web. 11 Apr 2011. http://archive. starbulletin. com. Simpson, Paul. Stylistics: A resource book for students. London and New York: Routledge, 2002. Print. Tenbrink, Thora. â€Å"Reference frames of space and time in language. † Journal of Pragmatics. 43. 3 (2011) : 704-722. Web. 18 Mar. 2011. —. The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. Ed. M. C. Howatson and Ian Chilvers. Oxford University Press, 1996. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Hogskolan I Halm stad. Web. 18 Feb. 2011 —.The Concise Oxford Companion to Englishl Literature. Ed. Margaret Drabble and Jenny Stringer. Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Hogskolan I Halmstad. Web. 17 Feb. 2011 —. The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Chris Baldick. Oxford University Press, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Hogskolan I Halmstad. Web. 22Feb. 2011. 24 Appendix Obama's Inaugural Address Remarks as Prepared for Delivery January 20, 2009 My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the o ath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents. So it has been.So it must be with this generation of Americans. That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less pro found is a sapping of confidence across our land – a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights. Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America – they will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. 1On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted – for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risktakers, the doers, the makers of things – some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth. For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were ra w so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions – that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act – not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.All this we can do. And all this we will do. 2 Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions – who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage. What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them – that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works – whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account – to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day – because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government. Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill.Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control – and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willi ng heart – not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good. As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we ple ase. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint. We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort – even greater cooperation and understanding between nations.We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you. 3 For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.W e are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West – know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it. As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains.They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment – a moment that wil l define a generation – it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all. For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate. Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends – hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism – these things are old.These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is requir ed of us now is a new era of responsibility – a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.This is the price and the promise of citizenship. This is the source of our confidence – the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny. 4 This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed – why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath. So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled.In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of mo nths, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people: â€Å"Let it be told to the future world†¦ that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive†¦ that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]. America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and deliv ered it safely to future generations. 5