Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Obama's Inauguration Speech


Obama’s Speeches
William Safire, a speechwriter for President Richard Nixon writes in Time Magazine what he thinks how Obama should say in his speech. He says, “In Obama’s speech next week, he ‘cannot escape history.’” He also says that first impressions count which they certainly do because this is the speech that Obama will capture the audiences attention greatly and see what they have to offer in the world during his presidency. Obama's speeches have been compared to Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Junior (MLK). He has been compared to as FDR because of what he had to deal with during the depression in 1933. Presently, our country is going through some tough times and Obama will be the president to deal with this and hopefully put America back on track and running smoothly. His speeches have been compared to Lincoln's First Inauguration Speech during the Civil War. He quotes, "We are not enemies, but friends." Our country is currently fighting in Iraq and hopefully Obama can solve these issues with certain countries, like Iraq and can bring our troops hime safely. Lastly, Mr. Safire says that Obama does not need to mention he is black. FDR never said that he was the frist disabled president nor di JFK say he was the first Catholic. The people will get his point without him having to say this and neverthe less will his speech be long remembered.


Obama will become the first black president of the United States which will be a major event in our history. Throughout the years, blacks were used as slaves and had no freedom until Martin Luther King Jr. stepped in and greatly helped the civil rights movement for the blacks. That was back in 1963. Now, it’s 2009 and a black man will be our president after all these years of suffering, misconception, and anger.

I believe that Obama will have a powerful and well-rounded speech and really capture America's heart. His presidency will be one of the greatest moments in our history and as Safire put it, "he will be long remembered."

Monday, January 5, 2009

Technology: Reducing Time and Space


In our world today, many families choose to live apart from one another because of work. An estimated of 3.6 million married Americans were living apart from their spouses. Fortunately, technology has made life easier for these families to keep in touch. There are websites like Skype that allow one another to see eachother through computer. For example, husband and father Miles Harvey lives far away from his family in Chicago He moved to New Orleans by himself because of work, but he has found many ways to communicate with his loved ones. He video chats with his wife and two kids everyday and talks to them about his day. The picture above shos Harvey reading a book to his kids on the video chat. Harvey reduces the negative effects by interacting with his family online and spending time with them. Technology these days has made life easier for these families who are in these situations like the Harvey's.