The inaugural address given by
President Barack Obama on
20 January 2009

Inspired by the fervour of the nation at the prospect of a new America, and with a spirit of hope, I too joined countless other people to watch President Barack Obama deliver his inaugural address on 20 January 2009.

I read the carefully chosen words of this sober speech with interest, admiration and curiosity – to decipher the rhetoric of the author(s) at this auspicious moment in American history.

Pundits have revealed references to Dorothy Fields’ song ‘Pick Yourself Up’ and the English economist John Maynard Keynes, author of The Great Slump of 1930.

For me the most interesting discovery is the source of the words that President Obama tells us ‘the father of our nation ordered . . . be read to the people:

“Let it be told to the future world, that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet . . . it.”’

Written by the English radical philosopher Thomas Paine, these words come from the first in a series of pamphlets published as The American Crisis. In 1776 General Washington was preparing to cross the Delaware River to continue his war against the British. He ordered Paine’s pamphlet be read to the troops, obviously to boost their morale and encourage re-enlistment. It is unclear exactly how much of the 3,500-word pamphlet was actually read. Notably, President Obama omitted the words ‘and to repulse’ in the ellipsis.

Despite a growing crisis in the global economy, disparity between developed and developing worlds, wars, climate change, dwindling natural resources and the wanton behaviour of many people, I trust the new President can bring peace, freedom and prosperity to this and future generations, worldwide. Let us hope he can.