Comparing Obama and Isocrates's Speech - Essay Sample

Introduction

The speech of Barack Obama at Cairo University (2009) and that of Isocrates' Panegyricus (380BC) has ideas that point out critical issues facing humanity. While the address of Isocrates dates back to the early 380 BC, it is no doubt that it highlights important issues that resonate with human experiences in the present-day world. The two addresses are of different contexts since they were given thousands of years apart, but they have similarities and differences in ideas. In this regard, the speakers lay out cultural programs as mechanisms to promote mutual respect and balance critical interests in a diverse society. Obama and Isocrates differ in their view of moral leadership in the world but agree on cultural programs that promote diversity and mutual respect as people maintain their distinct cultures. However, Isocrates view is that people who deserve honor are the ones that have a right to acquire power and even dispute leadership while Obama's perspective is that moral authority is not claimed through violence.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Similarities

Both Obama and Isocrates advocate for cultural programs that encourage people to embrace the diversity of human existence and their relations. Isocrates, in particular, criticized disciplines underlying the culture of Athens since it attaches no value to human diversity and its role in the land of Athens (Isocrates Speech, 380BC). It is no doubt in this case that the speaker disregards any culture that is not fruitful and practical in shaping the conduct of the people. Hence, the cultural initiatives that Isocrates is advocating for in the land of Athens are narrow than what the teachers of various disciplines at that time were teaching. The speaker encourages the Athenians to have a culture that envisages the whole of their life since it is more beneficial than what the professors of arts and sciences were teaching at that time (Isocrates, 1928).

Obama, like Isocrates, sees the traditions underlying the people's culture as an essential component that promotes development. In this perspective, Obama says that while people have distinct cultures, it should not separate them but instead act as a tool to unite the people (Span, 2009). This idea resonates the experiences in the present-day world where culture is an influential factor that shapes religion, and civilization, to mention a few. The view in this context is that the culture of the people should not be a factor that promotes radical ideas that encourage conflicts. The fact that Obama says culture should not be the cause of discord and suspicion in the world implies that some cultural programs support harmful ideologies that disrupt peaceful coexistence across the globe (Rogers, 2009).

Obama further points out the discord between the West and the Muslim world. As such, it is a clear indication that some misconceptions about the ideas of the Islamic culture and other religions of the world are creating negative relations across the globe. It is for this reason that Obama advocates for cultural initiatives that promote peace and mutual respect (White House, 2009). Precisely, such programs ought to combat violent extremism that has been facing the world over the last decade. According to the speaker, the culture from different parts of the world, and hence, its course should be 'E Pluribus Unum' (New York Times, 2009).

The cultural programs that underpin the speech of the two speakers are against hatred and antagonism between the human communities. Isocrates, for instance, cautions the Athenians in Greece against their antagonist ideologies against the Barbarians and Spartans (Flower, 2009). This aspect suggests that many leaders in Athens who attempted to teach about the subject failed to promote a culture that encourages harmonious living in the land of Athens (Kapparis, 1994). Instead, such people were fostering a culture that creates a sense of superiority against the Barbarians. The critical idea in the speech of Isocrates is that Athenians ought to nurture a culture that would enable them to overcome serious trouble, and confusion that led them to the civil wars with Barbarians. Similarly, the speech of Obama encourages the need for a culture that fosters harmony, especially after discords between the Western countries and the Islam world.

Differences

Moral leadership, according to Obama, is against violence, and an individual can claim it through a peaceful democratic process. Isocrates, in contrast, says power cannot be on the same hands, and thus, those who first won the honor have a claim on the leadership (Freese, 2010; Heilbrunn, 2012). Isocrates further asserts that people that deserve leadership are the ones that have the most significant power, honor, and experience in specific spheres of action. However, the differences in Obama's and Isocrates's attitudes towards moral leadership, in this perspective, is because of the underlying contexts.

The reason for Isocrates's ideology is because of the conflicts between the Barbarians and the Athenians in the early 380 BC. The prevailing conditions created an environment characterized by the existence of civil wars. For the case of Obama, leaders acquire moral leadership through democratic practices that are free from violence. This idea in Obama's speech resonates from the fact that violent extremist groups, in some instances, strive to acquire power by facilitating conflicts. The speaker, in this perspective, cautioned Palestinians against using violence since such power is not part of a moral authority that underpins democratic participation (Gerges, 2009).

The founders of a nation deserve authority according to Isocrates. Giving such people the power to lead the country, therefore, is the greatest reward that commensurates their efforts, achievements, and contributions to the entire nation. The speaker had this ideology because of the nature of the political environment at that time, where the Athenians and the Barbarians were competing to expand and control their territories. Therefore, the scarcity of land, perpetual civil wars and the fact the Barbarians were occupying a significant proportion of land is a primary reason for this ideology in the speech of Isocrates (Isocrates, 1999).

Obama, on the other hand, said everyone has a right to exist, and a legitimate leadership is the one that acts as a unifying factor among its people. For instance, the speaker points out that despite a political standoff between the Israeli and Palestinians, both groups are part of human society and thus deserve to live peacefully. As such, Obama challenged the Palestinian Authority to unite its citizens besides enhancing its capacity to govern (Internet Archive, 2009; Obama, 2012. The solution between the Israelis and the Palestinians is to recognize international agreements, end violence, and recognize each other's right to exist. Hence, they ought to establish robust governance structures and rather than focusing on the aspirations of the founding fathers to create settlements in Gaza, the disputed land (Black, 2009).

Conclusion

Conclusively, the speech of Obama and Isocrates are relevant since it addresses the problems facing the modern world. They have similarities in that the two speakers are against cultures and programs that breed hatred, antagonism, and violence. Also, both view cultural diversity as an aspect that ought to unite people besides fostering prosperity. However, the speakers have differences where Isocrates see individuals that win in various courses of actions, and those who deserve honor as people who ought to claim moral authority. Conversely, Obama sees such leadership as governance that promotes harmony, and civilians establish it through democratic processes.

References

Black, I. (2009, July 14). Barack Obama's Cairo speech pledges a new beginning between the US and Muslims. Retrieved June 17, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jun/04/barack-obama-speech-cairo-israel/url/

Flower, M. A. (2000). From Simonides to Isocrates: The Fifth-Century Origins of Fourth- Century Panhellenism. Classical Antiquity, 19(1), 65-101. DOI: 10.2307/25011112

Freese, J. (2010). Isocrates, Panegyricus. Retrieved June 17, 2019, from http://faculty.uml.edu/ethan_spanier/Teaching/documents/ISOCRATES.pdf/url/

Gerges, A. (2009, June 7). The Meaning of Obama's Speech in Egypt. Retrieved June 17, 2019, from http://studies.aljazeera.net/mritems/Documents/2011/8/4/2011848852983371The%20Meaning%20of.pdf/url/

Heilbrunn, G. (2012). Isocrates on rhetoric and power. Hermes, 103, 154. Retrieved June 17, 2019, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/4475901/url

Internet Archive. (2009). Obama's Speech at Cairo University (Online). Retrieved June 17, 2019, from https://archive.org/details/ObamasSpeechAtCairoUniversity/url/

Isocrates, G. (1928). Discourses 4. Panegyricus. Digital Loeb Classical Library. DOI:10.4159/dlcl.isocrates-discourses_4_panegyricus.1928

Isocrates, G. (1999). Isocrates, Panegyricus 380BC, section 24. (1999). Retrieved June 17, 2019, from http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=isoc.+4.24/url/

Isocrates Speech. (380BC). Full-text speech: "Ad demonicum ET Panegyricus Isocrates". Retrieved June 17, 2019, from https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_51NKXjeD1MsC/bub_gb_51NKXjeD1MsC_djvu.txt/url/

Kapparis, K. (1994). Two Speeches of Isocrates - S. Usher: Isocrates, Panegyricus and To Nicocles. (Greek Orators, III.) Pp. VI + 219. Warminster: Aris and Phillips, 1990. The Classical Review, 44(1), 23-24. DOI: 10.1017/s0009840x00290227

New York Times. (2009, June 4). Text: Obama's Speech in Cairo. Retrieved June 17, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/us/politics/04obama.text.html/url/

Obama, B. (2012). Cairo Speech. The Contemporary Middle East, 67-79. DOI: 10.4324/9780429492907-7

Rogers, P. (2009, May). The Obama Cairo Speech - Context and Implications.

Retrieved June 17, 2009, from https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/102119/09-05e.pdf/url/

Span, C. (2009, June 4). President Obama Speech to Muslim World in Cairo [Video file].

Retrieved June 17, 2009, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_889oBKkNU/url/

White House. (2009, June 4). The President's Speech in Cairo: A New Beginning. Retrieved June 17, 2009, from https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/issues/foreign-policy/presidents-speech-cairo-a-new-beginning/url/