Creating Authority through Rhetoric & Ritual:
Obama's Speech in Honor of the Arizona Victims
Ernesto Castañeda, University of Texas El Paso
President Obama spoke at the University of Arizona on January 12, 2011 following the shootings in Tucson, Arizona. The speech was not only politically superb but it also fulfilled many other real and symbolic goals even if at the latent level. The President led the United States of America in celebrating the lives of the victims of the shooting and in reviving the sense of community across the nation. The event masterfully, and in a very American fashion, blended the religious and the secular. It was a great example of civic religion (Bellah 1991 [1967]) [1].
The precedent was set by Professor Carlos Gonzales who gave a Native American blessing. Professor Carlos R. Gonzales, MD, FAAFP Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine was also representing the University faculty. Through his participation the University of Arizona’s Administration included local voices. Going back to the origins of academia, he mixed the religious and the scientific. Doctor Gonzales set out to bless the event following Yaqui traditions. Yet like the rest of the event, this was both a spiritual performance and act of civic participation through which the speakers renewed their legitimacy and grew in esteem, status, and authority. After asking, “If I may”, he blessed his son who was in Afghanistan, signaling to the audience that his family was patriotic and was fulfilling American military commitments abroad: thus his family is fully American. Yet, he clarified his multiple identities as a Doctor and Professor –but one of humble origins. In relation to his ethnic origins, Professor Gonzales, a Catholic, named twice Mexico. His speech served as a reminder that the event was taking place in the Southwest. He preceded the blessing by clarifying his authority to address the public and conduct the blessing. Gonzales said he was not an official priest or Medicine-Man (his words) but a lay member who had been given permission by Indigenous civic and moral authorities to conduct the ceremony and thus represent, and temporarily hold, the Yaqui authority [2].
Unfortunately the setting was set for misunderstandings and ridicule; while the content of his blessing was homologous to that of the other speakers, people (or at least Brit Hume a commentator on Fox news [3]4) confused his blessings of the four cardinal points as the literal blessing of the North, South, East and West “doors.” My guess is that the speaker made an accommodation to his un-initiated audience by translating an event that is traditionally conducted outdoors to that of one conducted indoors in a large sports arena and in front of an inordinate amount of people. He joked, “I have never made a blessing”, which initially sounded as recognition of his self-conscious theatricality and the usurpation of a role that was not really his. But he then added, “in front of so many people” which called to attention the “otherness” of the audience and the minor cultural differences between the Yaqui and other state residents. This was further underlined when Professor Gonzales calling those in the audience who knew, “The traditional blessing way” to follow it and for those who did not, the great majority, to stay standing. This invitation to remain standing was another important moment of cultural translation since in many Christian services one stands for the most sacred moments in a service or mass. This is also the case in key parts of civic ceremonies like the singing of the national anthem.
However “foreign”, bizarre or magic this intervention could have appeared to live and TV audiences, it set the right tone for the whole event. What followed, appeared in comparison more familiar and “normal” to Americans, but to a foreign audience, let’s say French, the whole event would have appeared worrisomely religious and curious. The participation of President Obama was so successful because it had a message for secular, non-Christian religious audiences, and Christian religious audiences. Implicitly assuming the role of a High Priest, Obama’s speech followed two readings made by his direct dependents and political appointees. The Attorney General Eric Holder and the Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, read directly from the Bible as is done in many Christina services before the sermon. Obama delivered his comments and interpretation of events after these two readings as a homily, further reinforcing his temporal role as a civil Priest. The event did not finish with Obama’s lecture, instead there were more words uttered from the podium, and final chants as would be the case in a religious service. By the structural similarity and his temporal position in the whole event, Obama occupied the equivalent role of a Priest. Thus he acted not only as the political leader of the country, but also as the moral and spiritual leader of the nation. He stole a line from the Republican playbook by consciously trying to be perceived as a religious leader, but he surpassed them in delivery by a great deal. Rather than agitating his fundamentalist followers against infidels, he called for empathy, love, forgiveness, humility, cooperation and understanding that is to be found in the teachings of Christianity and other world religions [5]. He said,
“As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let’s use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy and remind ourselves of all the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together.”
So he called for unite and underlined commonalties. While some politicians appeal to the worst in people (fear, anxiety, and small-mindedness), Obama appealed to the best in them.
There was much for cultural and practicing Christians in the audience but also for other groups. The readings from the bible made explicitly mention of Israel, as an analogy of the chosen people destined to survive despite the worst drawbacks –a common theme in American civic religion (Bellah 1991 [1967])- and/or as a nod to include the Jewish victims of the shooting, and those in the audience and the nation. Muslims were not mentioned.
In his speech, Obama also addressed indirectly some criticisms made by his most fervent opponents: that either he is not Christian enough, or that he is Muslim. Without calling his opponents liars he eased their doubts by showing his faith, and by saying “I have come here tonight as an American who, like all Americans, kneels to pray with you today and will stand by you tomorrow.” He also evocated a secular activity (jumping in rain puddles) to be performed in Heaven, as the mother of the 9 year-old girl victim, Christina Green, told Fox news, "I'm so proud of her. I'm still proud of her today. I know that she's going to do great things in heaven" [6].
If reading from the bible and acting as a priest was not enough, there was even the presence of a miracle: just after Obama visited Representative Gabrielle Giffords, she opened her eyes for the first time. What this event means is on the eye of the beholder. For the secular eye, it could be considered a coincidence showing her improving physical states; for the cynic, an event manufactured by Obama and the Democrats; for a mystic supporter, a sign of Gods support of Obama. In any case Representative Giffords is showing quick signs of recovery and the visit and support from her colleagues could only inspire her, these were good news with which Obama could turn the event into a celebratory one.
Obama gained authority through an appeal to a religious and moral authority common among Black, Civil Rights, and Human Rights leaders. But consciously or not Obama draw legitimacy from another source of authority beyond his political office: the family. Talking about the victims, and calling for empathy towards them and their families, Obama called for us to imagine some of the victims as our own mothers. Quite possibly the most powerful moment of the night was when he asked us to consider the nine year old victim as our own daughter. In his face, and in an almost breaking voice, one could see him imagining his daughters, who are of similar age and potential situation. While respectable mature males were killed, he did not cast them as father figures explicitly. This could be because of biographical reasons, but consciously or not, Obama’s speech also placed him symbolically as the father of all Americans and thus possessing the most traditional and legitimate authority. He indeed spoke of an American family to which everybody is a part – the American family 300 million strong as Obama said.
Without assigning blame, he called for a more civil public discourse, encouraging cooperation for the public good. He said, hateful words did not necessarily caused the shooting, but a more civil discourse was needed to solve the challenges presented by these recurrent mass killings, and that is what would be worthy of the victims- many of them Republicans and devout Christians and humanists. Thus Obama met the expectations of all the pundits. Some on the left asked to demonize the right for their hateful words and provocations, the right called him to chastise liberal pundits for being quick to assign blame to them. By not assigning blame, and thus absolving, pundits and public figures on the extreme right, he robbed them of any arguments to attack him. The pundits commenting on Fox news right after the speech could not find fault with his performance and could only agree with the message of the President. This was not a spell, but a great opportunity to reinforce his authority, mourn the victims, appealing to reason, and show hope for the future.
If the shooter in Arizona turns out to be one of a number of Americans who believe (wrongly but still believe it and act in consequence) that Barack Obama is an illegitimate leader, the main role of the event in Tucson was to make them reassess their opinions; and given the response of right-wing pundits like Glenn Beck (who thanked Obama for his speech and his absolution), and opinion polls, it worked.
This event was criticized by some for looking like a rally but it was not criticized for borrowing from a religious service. Obama accomplished the roles that Durkheim ascribes to, both religion and civil religion: he brought together a distinct and distant people and created a sense of community, common purpose, and shared feelings and expectations; there were even moments of collective effervescence. Lastly, and at the end the audience could feel a sense that they belonged to the same family.
Sociologist Max Weber talks about three sources of political legitimacy and authority: traditional, charismatic, and legal-rational. Traditional authority is often grounded in familial respect. Charisma refers not only to popularity, warmth and likability in the contemporary sense, but also as a sign that an individual has been gifted (originally by God) with a sign of extraordinariness, a halo of inspiration and the qualities of a prophet. The legal rational refers to a source of power rooted in laws, a rational system of uniform impartial bureaucratic practices through which leaders are chosen and act within those constraints. With his speech in Tucson, Obama drew simultaneously from these three sources of authority in the way that only could have been done by a charismatic and powerful Pope (who by definition is simultaneously a charismatic figure, a religious leader, and the Vatican’s Head of State).
Obama’s State of the Union address on January 25th had a different tone and followed a different logic from the Tucson speech. It was seen as different and less moving and successful by the audience. However he continued some of the themes mentioned in the previous speech. He went back to the trope of the American family, this time expressly including Muslims by talking about the “the conviction that American Muslims are a part of our American family.”He also said,
“Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater -– something more consequential than party or political preference. We are part of the American family. We believe that in a country in which every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people; that we share common hopes and a common creed; that the dreams of a little girl in Tucson are not so different than those of our own children, and that they all deserve the chance to be fulfilled” [7].
Civil religion was present even in a more quite way. Obama said, “I’m not sure how we’ll reach that better place beyond the horizon, but I know we’ll get there. I know we will.” The place beyond the horizon can be understood in both a secular and religious manner. And as customary for American Presidents, Obama closed with “Thank you. God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.” While he made some references to civic religion, the bulk of his address concerned policy preferences and solutions to “win the future” not only by having hope and committing to higher civil and religious powers but also by hard work and government actions. Obama behaved as Head of State. His popularity in polls grew across the board after the speech in Arizona, where he regained legitimacy, authority and moral stature. He could then assume this and act as the legitimate leader of the country. Most congress members acted in consequence showing constraint and respect, when not showing fervor by waiting to shake his hand at the beginning of the ceremony or by asking the President to autograph their written copy of the speech. Thus Obama’s personal charisma and political authority was evident to all but those who say to represent “the Tea Party” who still challenged him and while echoing many of the points he made during the speech seemed oblivious to his words and point of view. Yet the majority of the audience approves Obama’s job. Introducing Barak Obama at the Memorial, the President of the University of Arizona Robert N. Shelton said, “at a perilous time in our history. We are fortunate to have someone with his intellect, his energy and his heart to lead us forward [8]". Amen.
References
2. “Together We Thrive: Tucson and America - Dr. Carlos Gonzales Native American Indian YaquiBlessing.” 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2011 YouTube
3. "Brit Hume Questions Tone, Timing Of Arizona Shooting Memorial Service" Retrieved January 24, 2011 HuffingtonPost
4. "FNC's Hume praises 'pep rally' atmosphere, but calls Obama Arizona speech 'most peculiar '" Retrieved January 24, 2011 HuffingtonPost
5. "Obama's Eulogy Invokes Spirit Of Black Church, Reinhold Niebuhr" Retrieved January 24, 2011 HuffingtonPost
6. "The nine year old born on 9/11, the federal judge, and the aid that was about to be married: The victims of the Safeway Massacre" Retrieved January 24, 2011 Dailymail
7. Text of Obama’s State of the Union Address. The Wall Street Journal. WSJ
8. Tucson Memorial Service Honors Shooting Victims PBS
[3] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/13/brit-hume-tone-arizona-shooting-memorial_n_808432.html and
[4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSta0ucEhRk&feature=player_embedded
