In Selma, Obama avoided the simplistic narratives of America the perfect (or America the oppressive, as some conservatives allege) in favor of America, the struggle. His inauguration speeches and State of the Union addresses often demonstrate this, but the first, best example might be his concession speech during the 2008 New Hampshire primaries, where he linked his own presidential bid to the historical arc of American freedom. Obama has a rhetorical tendency to construct grand, sweeping visions of American history. Asian-Americans, gay Americans, and Americans with disabilities came through those doors." Had one of his predecessors not already taken the phrase, perhaps he would have called this a new birth of freedom.įew would disagree with this assessment, but the president's speech went beyond simple praise. "Because of what they did, the doors of opportunity swung open not just for African-Americans, but for every American," he told the crowd. But the speech's broader themes are far more important than its soundbites.įor Obama, the marchers at Selma helped set a new course for American democracy. Many will interpret this speech as a thinly veiled rebuttal to conservative critics like former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who claimed last month that Obama "doesn't love America." Others will focus on Obama's sharp attack on Congress for not renewing the Voting Rights Act of 1965 after the Supreme Court gutted it in a 2013 decision. That’s why we argue and fight with so much passion and conviction, because we know our efforts matter. We secure our rights and responsibilities through a system of self-government, of and by and for the people. We broke the old aristocracies, declaring ourselves entitled not by bloodline, but endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights. Obama corrected the record at Selma, making the case that we are not exceptional in the perfection of our virtue, but rather, exceptional in our relentless struggle to live up to our ideals:įor we were born of change. At a March 2009 news conference, he told a reporter that he believed in it "just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism." His political opponents incorporated this into a narrative that cast the president as anti-American, mistaking his ability to understand the pride of others abroad for a lack of pride on his own nation. Obama has not always spoken so clearly about American exceptionalism. His address commemorated the 50th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday" during the marches to Montgomery in 1965, but his rhetorical scope encompassed all of American history.
The American idea is instead built upon a civic nationalism rooted in democratic principles and self-evident truths, even though Americans often fail to meet those ideals.Īnd so, quoting James Baldwin and the prophet Isaiah, President Barack Obama spoke in Selma on Saturday.
A nation built by waves of immigrants can't rely on Old-World, blood-and-soil ethnic nationalism to define itself. Unlike many other nations, this idea requires a little articulation.
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