Obama's Farewell Speech: Identification and Division

Barack Obama gave his farewell address last night in Chicago. The speech was, for the most part, thoughtful. It was quite partisan, but in a fairly subdued manner. Reaction has been mixed; Fox's Bret Baier said that Obama gave the speech to fire up his supporters. Chris Cillizza wrote in the Washington Post that the speech "effectively functioned as the final chapter of the Obama presidency."

The great literary and rhetorical critic Kenneth Burke said that all persuasion results from identification.  Obama's speech repeatedly emphasized unity, how we all share a common cause. Burke would have understood perfectly:

"The freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat, toil, and imagination--and the imperative to strive together as well, to achieve a greater good."

Barack Obama, official WH Photo

"Only if all of us, regardless of our party affiliation or particular interest, help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now."

Obama's standard phrase "Yes We Can" is a call for identification. Obama added this coda: "Yes We Did." "Yes We Can." The word "we" is about identification.

Burke said that identification is paired with division. Obama warned of the threat posed by radicals and terrorists, who do not share America's values. He warned people not to huddle off into bubbles where they hear only one point of view: "The rise of naked partisanship, increasing economic and regional stratification, the splintering of our media into a channel for every taste--all this makes this great sorting seem natural, even inevitable." We then, he warned, accept "only information, whether true or not, that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that's out there."

Obama's critique of his successor was muted in this speech, although maybe it will become more dramatic in the future. Who knows?

We identify with one another to persuade them. By dividing ourselves from others (terrorists, dictators), we affirm who we are and make that identification stronger.

I'll have more to say about this speech over the next several days.