MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M.A THESIS A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE U.S PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S INAUGURAL SPEECHES IN 2009 AND 2013 (PHÂN TÍCH DIỄN NGƠN PHÊ PHÁN BÀI PHÁT BIỂU NHẬM CHỨC CỦA TỔNG THỐNG MỸ BARACK OBAMA NĂM 2009 VÀ 2013) NGUYỄN THU TRANG Hanoi, 2016 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M.A THESIS A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE U.S PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S INAUGURAL SPEECHES IN 2009 AND 2013 (PHÂN TÍCH DIỄN NGÔN PHÊ PHÁN BÀI PHÁT BIỂU NHẬM CHỨC CỦA TỔNG THỐNG MỸ BARACK OBAMA NĂM 2009 VÀ 2013) NGUYỄN THU TRANG Field: English Language Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Do Kim Phuong, Ph.D Hanoi, 2016 Front hard cover Back hard cover NGUYỄN THU TRANG ENGLISH LANGUAGE 2014 - 2016 i CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled A critical discourse analysis of the U.S president Barack Obama’s inaugural speeches in 2009 and 2013 submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English Language Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis Hanoi, 2016 Nguyen Thu Trang Approved by SUPERVISOR Do Kim Phuong, Ph.D Date:…………………… ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe special debts of gratitude to my lecturers, colleagues, family and friends for their support in my completing the thesis I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Do Kim Phuong, Ph.D for her advice, critical comments and invaluable suggestions My heartfelt sense of gratitude goes to my family for their emotional support in accomplishing this graduation thesis Hanoi, 2016 Nguyen Thu Trang iii ABSTRACT The thesis aims at exploring how power and ideology are achieved through language via the analysis of the inaugural speech in 2009 and 2013 by U.S President Barack Obama using one of the discourse analysis approaches – critical discourse analysis Firstly, the research maps out the theoretical framework of CDA, the concepts of power and ideology and then examines the importance of Systemic Functional Grammar (SFL) to CDA Accordingly, the framework of CDA procedure which sets the basis for the analysis of the two inaugural speeches will be analyzed and interpreted The analysis consists of three stages namely: description, interpretation and explanation The findings and the conclusion of the thesis prove the author’s assumption about the ideological power relations in the speech iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CDA Critical Discourse Analysis CL Critical Language MR Members’ Resources SFG Systemic Functional Grammar App Appendix v LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES List of figures and tables Figure 1: The triangle of discourse analysis: language, Page number practice and context Figure 2: Interpretation 15 Figure 3: Explanation 16 Figure 4: Aspects of interpersonal management 18 Figure 5: Components of multiple theme 19 Table 1: The occurrence of personal pronoun in the two 35 speeches Table 2: Number and percentage of passive and active 37 sentences used in the speeches Table 3: The words with high frequency of using throughout 44 the two inaugural speeches by Barack Obama Table 4: Summary of transitivity analysis 48 Table 5: Summary of thematization analysis 49 Table 6: Summary of the findings 62 vi LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1: Barack Obama’s inaugural speech on January 21, 2009 Appendix 2: Barack Obama’s inaugural speech on January 21, 2013 Appendix 3: Passive clauses and frequency of modality found in the speeches Appendix 4: Transitivity analysis Appendix 5: Speeches before and after the inaugural speeches in 2009 and 2013 of President Barack Obama vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Page number Certification of originality i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii List of abbreviations iv List of figures and tables v List of appendices vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the research 1.3 Specific objectives of the research 1.4 Scope of the research 1.5 Significance of the research 1.6 Structure of the research CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Review of previous studies 2.2 Review of theoretical background 2.2.1 Theoretical framework 2.2.2 Theoretical background 2.2.2.1 Critical discourse analysis (CDA) 2.2.2.2 Concepts in CDA 12 begin to build a new electricity grid that lay down more than 3,000 miles of transmission lines to convey this new energy from coast to coast We’ll save taxpayers $2 billion a year by making 75% of federal buildings more energy efficient, and save the average working family $350 on their energy bills by weatherizing 2.5 million homes To lower health care cost, cut medical errors, and improve care, we’ll computerize the nation’s health record in five years, saving billions of dollars in health care costs and countless lives And we’ll protect health insurance for more than million Americans who are in danger of losing their coverage during this economic downturn To ensure our children can compete and succeed in this new economy, we’ll renovate and modernize 10,000 schools, building state-of-the-art classrooms, libraries, and labs to improve learning for over five million students We’ll invest more in Pell Grants to make college affordable for seven million more students, provide a $2,500 college tax credit to four million students, and triple the number of fellowships in science to help spur the next generation of innovation Finally, we will rebuild and retrofit America to meet the demands of the 21st century That means repairing and modernizing thousands of miles of America’s roadways and providing new mass transit options for millions of Americans It means protecting America by securing 90 major ports and creating a better communications network for local law enforcement and public safety officials in the event of an emergency And it means expanding broadband access to millions of Americans, so business can compete on a level-playing field, wherever they’re located I know that some are skeptical about the size and scale of this recovery plan I understand that skepticism, which is why this recovery plan must and will include unprecedented measures that will allow the American people to hold my Administration accountable for these results We won’t just throw money at our problems we’ll invest in what works Instead of politicians doling out money behind a veil of secrecy, decisions about where we invest will be made public, and informed by independent experts whenever possible We’ll launch an unprecedented effort to root out waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary spending in our government, and every American will be able to see how and where we spend taxpayer dollars by going to a new website called recovery.gov 36 No one policy or program will solve the challenges we face right now, nor will this crisis recede in a short period of time But if we act now and act boldly; if we start rewarding hard work and responsibility once more; if we act as citizens and not partisans and begin again the work of remaking America, then I have faith that we will emerge from this trying time even stronger and more prosperous than we were before REMARKS ON SIGNING 23 EXECUTIVE ACTIONS TO REDUCE GUN VIOLENCE Thank you, everybody Please Please have a seat Good afternoon, everybody Let me begin by thanking our Vice President, Joe Biden, for your dedication, Joe, to this issue, for bringing so many different voices to the table Because while reducing gun violence is a complicated challenge, protecting our children from harm shouldn’t be a divisive one Over the month since the tragedy in Newtown, we’ve heard from so many, and, obviously, none have affected us more than the families of those gorgeous children and their teachers and guardians who were lost And so we’re grateful to all of you for taking the time to be here, and recognizing that we honor their memories in part by doing everything we can to prevent this from happening again But we also heard from some unexpected people In particular, I started getting a lot of letters from kids Four of them are here today Grant Fritz, Julia Stokes, Hinna Zeejah, and Teja Goode They’re pretty representative of some of the messages that I got These are some pretty smart letters from some pretty smart young people Hinna, a third-grader you can go ahead and wave, Hinna That’s you Hinna wrote, “I feel terrible for the parents who lost their children…I love my country and [I] want everybody to be happy and safe.” And then, Grant go ahead and wave, Grant Grant said, “I think there should be some changes We should learn from what happened at Sandy Hook…I feel really bad.” And then, Julia said Julia, where are you? There you go “I’m not scared for my safety, I’m scared for others I have four brothers and sisters and I know I would not be able to bear the thought of losing any of them.” 37 These are our kids This is what they’re thinking about And so what we should be thinking about is our responsibility to care for them, and shield them from harm, and give them the tools they need to grow up and everything that they’re capable of doing not just to pursue their own dreams, but to help build this country This is our first task as a society, keeping our children safe This is how we will be judged And their voices should compel us to change And that’s why, last month, I asked Joe to lead an effort, along with members of my Cabinet, to come up with some concrete steps we can take right now to keep our children safe, to help prevent mass shootings, to reduce the broader epidemic of gun violence in this country And we can't put this off any longer Just last Thursday, as TV networks were covering one of Joe’s meetings on this topic, news broke of another school shooting, this one in California In the month since 20 precious children and six brave adults were violently taken from us at Sandy Hook Elementary, more than 900 of our fellow Americans have reportedly died at the end of a gun 900 in the past month And every day we wait, that number will keep growing So I’m putting forward a specific set of proposals based on the work of Joe’s task force And in the days ahead, I intend to use whatever weight this office holds to make them a reality Because while there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely, no piece of legislation that will prevent every tragedy, every act of evil, if there is even one thing we can to reduce this violence, if there is even one life that can be saved, then we've got an obligation to try And I’m going to my part As soon as I'm finished speaking here, I will sit at that desk and I will sign a directive giving law enforcement, schools, mental health professionals and the public health community some of the tools they need to help reduce gun violence We will make it easier to keep guns out of the hands of criminals by strengthening the background check system We will help schools hire more resource officers if they want them and develop emergency preparedness plans We will make sure mental health professionals know their options for reporting threats of violence even as we acknowledge that someone with a mental illness is far more likely to be a victim of violent crime than the perpetrator 38 And while year after year, those who oppose even modest gun safety measures have threatened to defund scientific or medical research into the causes of gun violence, I will direct the Centers for Disease Control to go ahead and study the best ways to reduce it and Congress should fund research into the effects that violent video games have on young minds We don't benefit from ignorance We don't benefit from not knowing the science of this epidemic of violence These are a few of the 23 executive actions that I’m announcing today But as important as these steps are, they are in no way a substitute for action from members of Congress To make a real and lasting difference, Congress, too, must act and Congress must act soon And I’m calling on Congress to pass some very specific proposals right away First: It’s time for Congress to require a universal background check for anyone trying to buy a gun The law already requires licensed gun dealers to run background checks, and over the last 14 years that’s kept 1.5 million of the wrong people from getting their hands on a gun But it’s hard to enforce that law when as many as 40 percent of all gun purchases are conducted without a background check That’s not safe That's not smart It’s not fair to responsible gun buyers or sellers If you want to buy a gun whether it’s from a licensed dealer or a private seller you should at least have to show you are not a felon or somebody legally prohibited from buying one This is common sense And an overwhelming majority of Americans agree with us on the need for universal background checks including more than 70 percent of the National Rifle Association’s members, according to one survey So there’s no reason we can’t this Second: Congress should restore a ban on military-style assault weapons, and a 10-round limit for magazines The type of assault rifle used in Aurora, for example, when paired with high-capacity magazines, has one purpose to pump out as many bullets as possible, as quickly as possible; to as much damage, using bullets often designed to inflict maximum damage And that's what allowed the gunman in Aurora to shoot 70 people 70 people killing 12 in a matter of minutes Weapons designed for the theater of war have no place in a movie theater A majority of Americans agree with us on this 39 And, by the way, so did Ronald Reagan, one of the staunchest defenders of the Second Amendment, who wrote to Congress in 1994, urging them this is Ronald Reagan speaking urging them to “listen to the American public and to the law enforcement community and support a ban on the further manufacture of [military-style assault] weapons.” And finally, Congress needs to help, rather than hinder, law enforcement as it does its job We should get tougher on people who buy guns with the express purpose of turning around and selling them to criminals And we should severely punish anybody who helps them this Since Congress hasn’t confirmed a director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in six years, they should confirm Todd Jones, who will be who has been Acting, and I will be nominating for the post And at a time when budget cuts are forcing many communities to reduce their police force, we should put more cops back on the job and back on our streets Let me be absolutely clear Like most Americans, I believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms I respect our strong tradition of gun ownership and the rights of hunters and sportsmen There are millions of responsible, law-abiding gun owners in America who cherish their right to bear arms for hunting, or sport, or protection, or collection I also believe most gun owners agree that we can respect the Second Amendment while keeping an irresponsible, law-breaking few from inflicting harm on a massive scale I believe most of them agree that if America worked harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be fewer atrocities like the one that occurred in Newtown That’s what these reforms are designed to They’re common-sense measures They have the support of the majority of the American people And yet, that doesn’t mean any of this is going to be easy to enact or implement If it were, we’d already have universal background checks The ban on assault weapons and highcapacity magazines never would have been allowed to expire More of our fellow Americans might still be alive, celebrating birthdays and anniversaries and graduations This will be difficult There will be pundits and politicians and special interest lobbyists publicly warning of a tyrannical, all-out assault on liberty not because that’s true, but 40 because they want to gin up fear or higher ratings or revenue for themselves And behind the scenes, they’ll everything they can to block any common-sense reform and make sure nothing changes whatsoever The only way we will be able to change is if their audience, their constituents, their membership says this time must be different that this time, we must something to protect our communities and our kids I will put everything I've got into this, and so will Joe But I tell you, the only way we can change is if the American people demand it And by the way, that doesn’t just mean from certain parts of the country We're going to need voices in those areas, in those congressional districts, where the tradition of gun ownership is strong to speak up and to say this is important It can't just be the usual suspects We have to examine ourselves and our hearts, and ask ourselves what is important This will not happen unless the American people demand it If parents and teachers, police officers and pastors, if hunters and sportsmen, if responsible gun owners, if Americans of every background stand up and say, enough; we’ve suffered too much pain and care too much about our children to allow this to continue then change will come That's what it's going to take In the letter that Julia wrote me, she said, “I know that laws have to be passed by Congress, but I beg you to try very hard.” Julia, I will try very hard But she’s right The most important changes we can make depend on congressional action They need to bring these proposals up for a vote, and the American people need to make sure that they Get them on record Ask your member of Congress if they support universal background checks to keep guns out of the wrong hands Ask them if they support renewing a ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines And if they say no, ask them why not Ask them what’s more important doing whatever it takes to get a A grade from the gun lobby that funds their campaigns, or giving parents some peace of mind when they drop their child off for first grade? This is the land of the free, and it always will be As Americans, we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights that no man or government can take away from us But 41 we've also long recognized, as our Founders recognized, that with rights come responsibilities Along with our freedom to live our lives as we will comes an obligation to allow others to the same We don’t live in isolation We live in a society, a government of, and by, and for the people We are responsible for each other The right to worship freely and safely, that right was denied to Sikhs in Oak Creek, Wisconsin The right to assemble peaceably, that right was denied shoppers in Clackamas, Oregon, and moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado That most fundamental set of rights to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness fundamental rights that were denied to college students at Virginia Tech, and high school students at Columbine, and elementary school students in Newtown, and kids on street corners in Chicago on too frequent a basis to tolerate, and all the families who’ve never imagined that they’d lose a loved one to a bullet those rights are at stake We’re responsible When I visited Newtown last month, I spent some private time with many of the families who lost their children that day And one was the family of Grace McDonald Grace’s parents are here Grace was seven years old when she was struck down just a gorgeous, caring, joyful little girl I’m told she loved pink She loved the beach She dreamed of becoming a painter And so just before I left, Chris, her father, gave me one of her paintings, and I it in my private study just off the Oval Office And every time I look at that painting, I think about Grace And I think about the life that she lived and the life that lay ahead of her, and most of all, I think about how, when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, we must act now for Grace For the 25 other innocent children and devoted educators who had so much left to give For the men and women in big cities and small towns who fall victim to senseless violence each and every day For all the Americans who are counting on us to keep them safe from harm Let’s the right thing Let’s the right thing for them, and for this country that we love so much Thank you Let’s sign these orders ADDRESS ON COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM 42 Well It is good to be back in Las Vegas And it is good to be among so many good friends Let me start off by thanking everybody at Del Sol High School for hosting us Go Dragons! Let me especially thank your outstanding principal, Lisa Primas There are all kinds of notable guests here, but I just want to mention a few First of all, our outstanding Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, is here Our wonderful Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar Former Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis Two of the outstanding members of the congressional delegation from Nevada, Steve Horsford and Dina Titus Your own mayor, Carolyn Goodman But we also have some mayors that flew in because they know how important the issue we’re going to talk about today is Marie Lopez Rogers from Avondale, Arizona Kasim Reed from Atlanta, Georgia Greg Stanton from Phoenix, Arizona And Ashley Swearengin from Fresno, California And all of you are here, as well as some of the top labor leaders in the country And we are just so grateful Some outstanding business leaders are here as well And of course, we’ve got wonderful students here, so I could not be prouder of our students Now, those of you have a seat, feel free to take a seat I don’t mind Audience Member: I love you, Mr President! President Obama: I love you back Now, last week, I had the honor of being sworn in for a second term as President of the United States And during my inaugural address, I talked about how making progress on the defining challenges of our time doesn’t require us to settle every debate or ignore every difference that we may have, but it does require us to find common ground and move forward in common purpose It requires us to act I know that some issues will be harder to lift than others Some debates will be more contentious That’s to be expected But the reason I came here today is because of a challenge where the differences are dwindling; where a broad consensus is emerging; and where a call for action can now be heard coming from all across America I’m here today 43 because the time has come for common-sense, comprehensive immigration reform The time is now Now is the time Now is the time Now is the time Audience: Sí se puede! Sí se puede! President Obama: Now is the time I’m here because most Americans agree that it’s time to fix a system that’s been broken for way too long I’m here because business leaders, faith leaders, labor leaders, law enforcement, and leaders from both parties are coming together to say now is the time to find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as the land of opportunity Now is the time to this so we can strengthen our economy and strengthen our country’s future Think about it we define ourselves as a nation of immigrants That’s who we are in our bones The promise we see in those who come here from every corner of the globe, that’s always been one of our greatest strengths It keeps our workforce young It keeps our country on the cutting edge And it’s helped build the greatest economic engine the world has ever known After all, immigrants helped start businesses like Google and Yahoo! They created entire new industries that, in turn, created new jobs and new prosperity for our citizens In recent years, one in four high-tech startups in America were founded by immigrants One in four new small business owners were immigrants, including right here in Nevada folks who came here seeking opportunity and now want to share that opportunity with other Americans But we all know that today, we have an immigration system that’s out of date and badly broken; a system that’s holding us back instead of helping us grow our economy and strengthen our middle class Right now, we have 11 million undocumented immigrants in America; 11 million men and women from all over the world who live their lives in the shadows Yes, they broke the rules They crossed the border illegally Maybe they overstayed their visas Those are facts Nobody disputes them But these 11 million men and women are now here Many of them have been here for years And the overwhelming majority of these individuals aren’t looking for any trouble They’re contributing members of the community They're looking 44 out for their families They're looking out for their neighbors They're woven into the fabric of our lives Every day, like the rest of us, they go out and try to earn a living Often they that in a shadow economy a place where employers may offer them less than the minimum wage or make them work overtime without extra pay And when that happens, it’s not just bad for them, it’s bad for the entire economy Because all the businesses that are trying to the right thing that are hiring people legally, paying a decent wage, following the rules -they’re the ones who suffer They've got to compete against companies that are breaking the rules And the wages and working conditions of American workers are threatened, too So if we're truly committed to strengthening our middle class and providing more ladders of opportunity to those who are willing to work hard to make it into the middle class, we've got to fix the system We have to make sure that every business and every worker in America is playing by the same set of rules We have to bring this shadow economy into the light so that everybody is held accountable businesses for who they hire, and immigrants for getting on the right side of the law That’s common sense And that’s why we need comprehensive immigration reform There’s another economic reason why we need reform It’s not just about the folks who come here illegally and have the effect they have on our economy It’s also about the folks who try to come here legally but have a hard time doing so, and the effect that has on our economy Right now, there are brilliant students from all over the world sitting in classrooms at our top universities They’re earning degrees in the fields of the future, like engineering and computer science But once they finish school, once they earn that diploma, there’s a good chance they’ll have to leave our country Think about that Intel was started with the help of an immigrant who studied here and then stayed here Instagram was started with the help of an immigrant who studied here and then stayed here Right now in one of those classrooms, there’s a student wrestling with how to turn their big idea their Intel or Instagram into a big business We’re giving them all the skills they 45 need to figure that out, but then we’re going to turn around and tell them to start that business and create those jobs in China or India or Mexico or someplace else? That’s not how you grow new industries in America That’s how you give new industries to our competitors That’s why we need comprehensive immigration reform Now, during my first term, we took steps to try and patch up some of the worst cracks in the system First, we strengthened security at the borders so that we could finally stem the tide of illegal immigrants We put more boots on the ground on the southern border than at any time in our history And today, illegal crossings are down nearly 80 percent from their peak in 2000 Second, we focused our enforcement efforts on criminals who are here illegally and who endanger our communities And today, deportations of criminals is at its highest level ever And third, we took up the cause of the DREAMers the young people who were brought to this country as children, young people who have grown up here, built their lives here, have futures here We said that if you’re able to meet some basic criteria like pursuing an education, then we’ll consider offering you the chance to come out of the shadows so that you can live here and work here legally, so that you can finally have the dignity of knowing you belong But because this change isn’t permanent, we need Congress to act and not just on the DREAM Act We need Congress to act on a comprehensive approach that finally deals with the 11 million undocumented immigrants who are in the country right now That's what we need Now, the good news is that for the first time in many years, Republicans and Democrats seem ready to tackle this problem together Members of both parties, in both chambers, are actively working on a solution Yesterday, a bipartisan group of senators announced their principles for comprehensive immigration reform, which are very much in line with the principles I’ve proposed and campaigned on for the last few years So at this moment, it looks like there’s a genuine desire to get this done soon, and that’s very encouraging 46 But this time, action must follow We can't allow immigration reform to get bogged down in an endless debate We've been debating this a very long time So it's not as if we don't know technically what needs to get done As a consequence, to help move this process along, today I’m laying out my ideas for immigration reform And my hope is that this provides some key markers to members of Congress as they craft a bill, because the ideas I’m proposing have traditionally been supported by both Democrats like Ted Kennedy and Republicans like President George W Bush You don't get that matchup very often So we know where the consensus should be Now, of course, there will be rigorous debate about many of the details, and every stakeholder should engage in real give and take in the process But it’s important for us to recognize that the foundation for bipartisan action is already in place And if Congress is unable to move forward in a timely fashion, I will send up a bill based on my proposal and insist that they vote on it right away So the principles are pretty straightforward There are a lot of details behind it We're going to hand out a bunch of paper so that everybody will know exactly what we're talking about But the principles are pretty straightforward First, I believe we need to stay focused on enforcement That means continuing to strengthen security at our borders It means cracking down more forcefully on businesses that knowingly hire undocumented workers To be fair, most businesses want to the right thing, but a lot of them have a hard time figuring out who’s here legally, who’s not So we need to implement a national system that allows businesses to quickly and accurately verify someone’s employment status And if they still knowingly hire undocumented workers, then we need to ramp up the penalties Second, we have to deal with the 11 million individuals who are here illegally We all agree that these men and women should have to earn their way to citizenship But for comprehensive immigration reform to work, it must be clear from the outset that there is a pathway to citizenship We’ve got to lay out a path a process that includes passing a background check, paying taxes, paying a penalty, learning English, and then going to the back of the line, behind all the folks who are trying to come here legally That's only fair, right? 47 So that means it won’t be a quick process but it will be a fair process And it will lift these individuals out of the shadows and give them a chance to earn their way to a green card and eventually to citizenship And the third principle is we’ve got to bring our legal immigration system into the 21st century because it no longer reflects the realities of our time For example, if you are a citizen, you shouldn’t have to wait years before your family is able to join you in America You shouldn't have to wait years If you’re a foreign student who wants to pursue a career in science or technology, or a foreign entrepreneur who wants to start a business with the backing of American investors, we should help you that here Because if you succeed, you’ll create American businesses and American jobs You’ll help us grow our economy You’ll help us strengthen our middle class So that’s what comprehensive immigration reform looks like: smarter enforcement; a pathway to earned citizenship; improvements in the legal immigration system so that we continue to be a magnet for the best and the brightest all around the world It’s pretty straightforward The question now is simple: Do we have the resolve as a people, as a country, as a government to finally put this issue behind us? I believe that we I believe that we I believe we are finally at a moment where comprehensive immigration reform is within our grasp But I promise you this: The closer we get, the more emotional this debate is going to become Immigration has always been an issue that enflames passions That’s not surprising There are few things that are more important to us as a society than who gets to come here and call our country home; who gets the privilege of becoming a citizen of the United States of America That's a big deal When we talk about that in the abstract, it’s easy sometimes for the discussion to take on a feeling of “us” versus “them.” And when that happens, a lot of folks forget that most of “us” used to be “them.” We forget that 48 It’s really important for us to remember our history Unless you’re one of the first Americans, a Native American, you came from someplace else Somebody brought you Ken Salazar, he’s of Mexican American descent, but he points that his family has been living where he lives for 400 years, so he didn't immigrate anywhere The Irish who left behind a land of famine The Germans who fled persecution The Scandinavians who arrived eager to pioneer out west The Polish The Russians The Italians The Chinese The Japanese The West Indians The huddled masses who came through Ellis Island on one coast and Angel Island on the other All those folks, before they were “us,” they were “them.” And when each new wave of immigrants arrived, they faced resistance from those who were already here They faced hardship They faced racism They faced ridicule But over time, as they went about their daily lives, as they earned a living, as they raised a family, as they built a community, as their kids went to school here, they did their part to build a nation They were the Einsteins and the Carnegies But they were also the millions of women and men whose names history may not remember, but whose actions helped make us who we are; who built this country hand by hand, brick by brick They all came here knowing that what makes somebody an American is not just blood or birth, but allegiance to our founding principles and the faith in the idea that anyone from anywhere can write the next great chapter of our story And that’s still true today Just ask Alan Aleman Alan is here this afternoon where is Alan? He's around here there he is right here Alan was born in Mexico He was brought to this country by his parents when he was a child Growing up, Alan went to an American school, pledged allegiance to the American flag, felt American in every way and he was, except for one: on paper In high school, Alan watched his friends come of age driving around town with their new licenses, earning some extra cash from their summer jobs at the mall He knew he couldn’t those things But it didn’t matter that much What mattered to Alan was earning an education so that he could live up to his God-given potential 49 Last year, when Alan heard the news that we were going to offer a chance for folks like him to emerge from the shadows even if it's just for two years at a time he was one of the first to sign up And a few months ago he was one of the first people in Nevada to get approved In that moment, Alan said, “I felt the fear vanish I felt accepted.” So today, Alan is in his second year at the College of Southern Nevada Alan is studying to become a doctor He hopes to join the Air Force He’s working hard every single day to build a better life for himself and his family And all he wants is the opportunity to his part to build a better America So in the coming weeks, as the idea of reform becomes more real and the debate becomes more heated, and there are folks who are trying to pull this thing apart, remember Alan and all those who share the same hopes and the same dreams Remember that this is not just a debate about policy It’s about people It’s about men and women and young people who want nothing more than the chance to earn their way into the American story Throughout our history, that has only made our nation stronger And it’s how we will make sure that this century is the same as the last: an American century welcoming of everybody who aspires to something more, and who is willing to work hard to it, and is willing to pledge that allegiance to our flag Thank you God bless you And God bless the United States of America 50 ... humankind For the above reasons, the author conducts the research entitled A critical discourse analysis of the U.S president Barack Obama’s inaugural speeches in 2009 and 2013 1.2 Aims of the. .. voice in applying and advancing critical discourse analysis in doing linguistic research Also, it is a contribution to find out the role of language in maintaining and attaining power and ideology... thematization analysis 49 Table 6: Summary of the findings 62 vi LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1: Barack Obama’s inaugural speech on January 21, 2009 Appendix 2: Barack Obama’s inaugural speech on January