Here in France, the kids are on vacation for the next two weeks because why the hell not? It’s February! Let’s stop going to school! It will be a nice contrast to the three weeks they took off in December and January, and the two weeks they will take off in April. That all being said, I am accompanying three chillins to the America of Americas here in France, the emporium of American Glory, I am going to EURO Disney . Yes, soon I will feel at home on Main Street U.S.A. where the rocks play music though the cotton candy will be called “barbe à papa” which translates to “papa’s beard” which is a far weirder image to eat than simply a candy version of the cotton plant.
Most laking to me, however, will be The Hall of Presidents from Disney World in Orlando. In Orlando, The Hall of Presidents features animatronic figures of every past and current president. Each of the forty-four U.S. presidents is called by name where they wave or nod or blink assertively and all other presidents turn to acknowledge their fellow office holders. The show ends first, with the current president giving an excerpt from a famous speech and then… well… First I’ll say that I was there a little over a year ago and the excerpt used for W. was a selection from an always inspirational ”No Child Left Behind” speech. Yet after the current president, Abe Lincoln stands and delivers a speech, one that has been revised from the original (C’mon. You seroiusly think you know better than Lincoln? You can’t revise that shit.). The audio-animatronic Abe blinks, gestures, forms syllables with his mouth and refers to a sheet of paper to remind him of his next line. This is yet another historical inaccuracy as Abraham Lincoln was a God, and Gods needn’t refer to notes.
And on that note, who knows what speech of Obama’s is being used o’er in Orlando? I’d be curious to know. What are your guys’ favorites? I should also note that all over France now are “Learn English with Obama” computer programs. They teach English through Obama speeches and using only his voice. I just like that we went from W. to the model of English rhetoric.
And make sure to check out Obama’s speech in Springfield, Illinois at a banquet for Lincoln’s bicentennial.
My day has suddenly gotten better at the thought of a bunch of Parisian’s speaking Obama-speak.
Asking to name my favorite Obama speech is a lot like asking what my favorite part of Provence or Tuscany or Hawaii is. Right now, the Springfield Lincoln speech, fresh in my memory and my heart, is at the top of the list, followed by the New Hampshire primary loss (Yes, we can – and yes, that was a concession speech in a loss), the 96 democratic convention, the race speech, and election night. I think parts of the Springfield Lincoln speech, particularly on the sections about the purpose of union, would fit in perfectly with Lincoln’s speech in the Hall of Presidents.
The part I find fascinating is not only how he speaks to history and our underlying core values, but speaks to the moment. His speeches are stirring at the time you are listening, because he speaks to our collective conscious and conscience right now. In his exquisite timing, he melds our felt needs of the moment with our collective history and hope for the future, and nurtures our common patriotic roots and values. If America is the last best hope, he certainly is America’s last best hope.
It’s exciting that French kids are learning English with Obama cadence. Now only if American kids would.