MLK vs. Obama - 1461 Words

Martin Luther King Jr. vs. President Obama Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama have both written and performed their fair share of speeches throughout their respective lives. The two speeches that are being compared are President Obama’s â€Å"A More Perfect Union† speech and Martin Luther King Jr.’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham City Jail† letter. President Obama spoke this speech while his was campaigning for the presidency in February of 2007, while his was running against Senator Hillary Clinton. During the speech, he addresses the topic about his pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, and he also addresses the broader issue of race in the United States. He does this by using the words†¦show more content†¦He also brings in references from the New and Old Testament to appeal to the clergymen. It is about connection between author and reader, and King does this by â€Å"†¦ ground[ing] his identity in the religious, intellec tual, and political values of the American tribe, and it enacts a form of agency that sustains connection between author and reader even in the presence of disagreement† (Leff and Utley 11). King uses a logical way to connect with the reader on his/her own level. King does this by mentioning Saint Thomas Aquinas when saying, â€Å"To put it in the terms of Saint Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law† (King 207-208). This touches the clergymen on their own level because they are religious, and it touches the ordinary citizen because the statement is logical. On the other hand, President Obama also presents his arguments and statements in a logical manner. He appeals to the masses by presenting himself as a normal citizen with normal problems but also addresses problems that are deeply rooted in American history. He ties both of these entities together logically. He does this by describing his church setting as follows, â€Å"The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and, yes the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America† (Obama 242). It shows thatShow MoreRelatedMartin Luther King s I Have A Dream Speech Essay2045 Words   |  9 Pages â€Å"I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.† (MLK, I have a Dream) Imagine standing in the crowd when Martin Luther King said this. To have all of your hopes and dreams of equality voiced in such a magnificent way. 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