POLITICS OF NATIONAL EULOGIES: OBAMA AND DR. KING’S LEGACY

Öz

Eulogy is a key rhetorical tool for the public to come to terms with national tragedies. While eulogies can bring the nation together during times of hardship, they can also undermine political mobilization by placing excessive emphasis on national unity. This paper will analyze this political aspect of national eulogies by providing a close reading of two pivotal political figures in American politics. These figures are the President Barack Obama and the African-American political activist Dr. Martin Luther King. The paper argues that Obama’s eulogy is deeply depoliticizing as he shifts the focus from politics to theological reasoning. King’s eulogies, on the other hand, are more political as he underlines the theme of individual responsibility. Yet King’s discourse also loses its political salience when he taps into the theme of equalizing power of death. This analysis is important to understand the ambiguous nature of eulogies, which makes these speeches oscillate between being a conservative and transformative rhetorical tool in politics.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• eulogy
• nation
• Barack Obama
• Dr. Martin Luther King
• Jacques Derrida

Ulusal Anma Konuşmaları ve Politika: Obama ve Dr. King’in Mirası

Öz

Anma konuşmaları halkın ulusal felaketlerin üstesinden gelmelerine yardımcı olan önemli retorik araçlardır. Böyle zor zamanlarda ulusu bir araya getirebilme yetisine sahip olan bu konuşmalar, ulusal birliğe fazla vurgu yaptıkları için politik oluşumların önünü de tıkayabilirler. Bu çalışma ulusal anma konuşmalarının politik yönünü Amerikan siyasetindeki iki önemli şahsın anma konuşmalarını yakından inceleyerek çözümleyecektir. Bu şahıslar Başkan Barack Obama ve Afro-Amerikalı siyasi aktivist Dr. Martin Luther King’dir. Çalışma, Obama tarafından yapılan anma konuşmalarının politikayı dini temalar üzerinden bastırdığını savunur. Diğer taraftan, King’in yaptığı anma konuşmaları daha politiktir çünkü bireysel sorumluluğun altını çizer. Fakat King’in söylemi de ölümün eşitleyici gücüne vurgu yaptığı anlarda politik gücünü yitirir. Çalışma en son olarak anma konuşmalarını daha politik bir yerden okumak için yüzünü Jacques Derrida’ya çevirir. Bu analiz, politikada muhafazakâr ve dönüştürücü bir retorik araç olmak arasında gidip gelen anma konuşmalarının muğlak yapısını anlamak için önemlidir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• anma konuşması
• ulus
• Barack Obama
• Dr. Martin Luther King
• Jacques Derrida

Kaynakça

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