Wise Voices: Did you buy State of the Union address?
Editor's note: This post is part of a series by Dr. Baker on Our Values about core American values. This week Dr. Baker is discussing different "voices" or media sources that we may or may not trust during these difficult times.
President’s State of the Union address.
White House photo in public domain.
Did you watch or listen to the State of the Union address? Would you include the president as a wise voice? All week on OurValues.org, we're discussing the voices we trust in difficult times.
A president is not obliged to deliver a State of the Union address. Early presidents delivered a written report to Congress in fulfillment of the Constitutional mandate: "He shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." In the 20th century, however, it became a tradition to deliver a speech rather than a report, and to do so annually.
Following tradition, our 44th president delivered the address to Congress last night. In it, he called for new measures to stimulate the economy, including tax reforms that would increase taxes on the rich.
Even before the Address was made, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney accused the president of fomenting class warfare. In a "prebuttal" he delivered in Tampa, Fla. and reproduced on his campaign site, he said, "Tonight, we’ll also be treated to more divisive rhetoric from a desperate campaigner-in-chief. It's shameful for a president to use the State of the Union to divide our nation."
The differences between the two men didn't strike me as much as their similarities. Each person, in a different way, made an emotional appeal to the core American values, especially egalitarianism and achievement.
Obama sees the wealth gap as un-American and wants to restore more equality. Romney implies that focusing on the wealth gap is un-American because it accentuates differences and ignores that which unites us. It undermines the achievement ethic: We live in a meritocracy and hard work pays off.
As the 2012 election season progresses, which voices do you trust?
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Originally published at www.OurValues.org, an online experiment in civil dialogue.
Dr. Wayne E. Baker is a sociologist on the faculty of the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Baker blogs daily at Our Values and can be reached at ourvaluesproject@gmail.com or on Facebook.
Comments
Tru2Blu76
Thu, Jan 26, 2012 : 5:26 a.m.
Mitt Romney: " It's shameful for a president to use the State of the Union to divide our nation." Eh, has he seen any of the George W. Bush SOTU's?? Hah! Mitt Romney (analyzed): " Romney implies that focusing on the wealth gap is un-American because it accentuates differences and ignores that which unites us. It undermines the achievement ethic: We live in a meritocracy and hard work pays off." -- It's clear Romney and all Republicans disagree with and deplore: the late Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States. It was TR who recognized the wealth gap and "culture war" and who insisted on instituting controls on monopolistic practices. For that: the Republicans kicked Roosevelt out of their party. Roosevelt campaigned on his Square Deal (for every American) policy. Guess that says it all about what Romney and the Republicans want - and tells us we've got to start all over again to restore that REAL American ideal and ethic: Americans work harder and better when they know they're getting a square deal. All of the Republicans are Faux Capitalists: using a valuable economic system to JUST their own ends. They are elitists, not capitalists. There's a difference and it's the difference between dishonesty and honesty.