Love Compare State of The Union Address with poems Essay

Love Compare State of The Union Address with poems - Essay Example A direct parallel can be made to these expressions of patriotism and the patriotic service of the armed forces with the third stanza in Bates’ (1993) America the Beautiful. The third stanza reads as follows: The parallel between Obama’s (2012) State of the Union Address and the third Stanza of America the Beautiful is more profoundly made when Obama (2012) informs Americans that the troops returning from Iraq are a â€Å"generation of heroes† that have â€Å"made the United States safer†. Thus the reference to the heroics of the armed forces and their efforts in making America safer are vastly similar to Bates’ (1993) reference to the â€Å"heroes proved in liberating strife† how much they loved the United States. Obama (2012) conveys the same message more profoundly in his State of the Union Address when he states that the efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan are manifestations of the armed forces’ love for the United States as they demonstrated â€Å"courage, selflessness and teamwork† and were not driven by self-serving aspirations. The emphasis on the patriotic contributions toward Americans’ liberations are questioned in Baker’s (1997) poem Patriotics and can thus be seen as a direct contradiction of the President’s (2012) State of the Union address. Baker (1997) points out that America’s freedom is celebrated on July 4th by the symbolic launching of military firepower: the launching of fireworks. Yet at the same time Americans are suffering everywhere, making these military conquests for freedom virtually inconsequential. Baker (1997) goes on to describe how despite the obvious suffering among Americans, they gather to celebrate the achievement of the military on the 4th July â€Å"our country’s perfect holiday, so direct a metaphor for war† (2nd Stanza). Obama (2012) touched on the irony only slightly, and in a way that promised hope for the