A Whole Lot of Talk, but Where's the Action?

Many of the presidents through the history of the United States have used wording that helps enforce the values of our great country. They used the words such as nation, world, and people to group all of us together in a united sense. It strikes me that by the words that are used the most throughout the speeches are more playing on emotions and less about substance. They are speeches not about an issue or what is actually going to happen during a presidency, but more an almost robotic speech about how our nation is great and how we will move forward together.

Obama’s inaugural speech also played with the same emotions. It was a general speech to move the nation forward and did not cover specific issues. His speech was about hope and looking forward to the future no matter what it might hold.

There were two speeches from the past that struck me as different from the rest. Ronald Reagan in his first term address and Abraham Lincoln spoke about the issues, instead of about nothing. They were unique from the rest of the presidents in that way. Most presidents talk about the same thing, but in times of great hardship, a real plan helps more than shallow reassurances.