President Obama Honors Nelson Mandela's Legacy

When choosing a speech to watch for Reich’s Cultural Parables I wanted to do something positive and uplifting so I chose to find a speech about the Triumphant Individual. President Barack Obama gave a speech at the memorial service of Nelson Mandela which I think fit this parable perfectly.

Nelson Mandela was born during World War I and was the son of a cattle farmer. By all accounts he was an unknown individual who was uncompromising in his ideals. He had to work very hard and take risks that could have cost him his life. He was a self-made man who showed that with enough drive and guts a person can be true to their ideals even if it means standing alone and going against what people think you should believe. Mandela was the leader of a movement that fought for an ideal Democracy and freedom for every South African based on core principles that bind the human spirit. Mandela said, “It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve but if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

President Obama compared Nelson Mandela to Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., saying he was, “a giant of history who moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved billions around the world.” He also said Mandela was like Abraham Lincoln who held his country together when it was threatened and like America’s founding fathers he would erect a constitutional order to protect freedom for future generations. He said that Mandela was the last great liberator of the 20th Century.

Obama said that we will remember him as an icon, but reminded us that Mandela resisted being known as that and instead he shared his doubts and fears with us all. Mandela said, “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as one who keeps on trying.” Obama reminded us that we can learn from him still, if we remember that he was a man who earned his place in history through struggle and shrewdness, persistence and faith. Mandela taught us what is possible in our own lives as well, if we will discipline our anger and accept the consequences of our actions.

He told the people of South Africa, “The world thanks you for sharing Nelson Mandela with us. His struggle was your struggle; his triumph was your triumph. Your freedom, your democracy, are his cherished legacy.” He spoke of Mandela having to endure a brutal imprisonment and his willingness to step down from power after only one term. He said that Mandela was shaped in a dark and solitary cell. He changed laws, but he also changed hearts. He showed us the power of action and the power of ideas. Mandela inspired people around the globe to act on justice and truth and remember that ““It always seems impossible until it is done!”

Obama and his speech writer do a great job of constructing the premises in this tribute speech. Obama speaks of our need to remember Mandela and all that he stood for. We need to do some self-reflection and ask ourselves how well we have applied the lessons Mandela has taught us in our own lives. Obama says we need to stop sitting on the sidelines and act on justice and truth.

The second premise appeals to our emotions which are involved as Obama speaks about the struggle that Mandela had to get out of prison and to do so while holding onto his ideals and the core principles that he held. He helps us feel happy about all that Mandela overcame and accomplished. He reminds us that Mandela makes us want to be better because he speaks to what’s best inside us. Obama persuades us to search for Mandela’s strength and his largeness of spirit inside ourselves.

The third process premise of attitudes is easy to see when you pay attention to how Obama frames Mandela’s life. He believes that Mandela is the great liberator of the 20th Century and we will never see the likes of Nelson Mandela again. He shares his opinion that we should not only study those we agree with but also our oppressor’s as Mandela did. He helps persuade us that no matter our beliefs and opinions we are bound together and we need to make Mandela’s life work our own.

The final premise is consistency. Obama points out that we cannot allow our progress to cloud the fact that our struggle is not done. He speaks of the progress Mandela made through the power of action and the power of ideas, but reminds us that we too must act on justice and truth. He recalled being motivated as a college student by Mandela’s fight against apartheid. “While I will always fall short of Madiba’s example, he makes me want to be better,” Obama said. Obama’s simple suggestions and the way he presents his message compel and move us to want to get off of the sidelines and help make the changes that still need to be made.

Once again this speech is a great example of using the premises to persuade an audience to change and take action. Even though this is a memorial speech which is meant as a tribute to Nelson Mandela, it persuades and motivates me to be a better person.