Open and Closed Minds

I have been contemplating one of the last questions asked today during English: Did Obama's speech have an effect on the people? I have come to the conclusion that Obama's Back to School speech may have indeed roused different emotions in people, but whether he managed to inspire anybody to work harder or not clearly relies on the people themselves.

Obama's narration of the tragic stories of Andoni, Shantell, and Jazmin served to relate to certain people with similar hardships, and hopefully strike a chord within them. Depending on each individual's views and thoughts, however, Obama's speech may or may not have persuaded them to persevere in school. If, say, a teenager is truly upset about his relationship with his family, and finds it difficult to focus on his schoolwork, it is his choice alone whether or not he listens to Obama's speech and follows it through to the end. That teenager will, in the end, decide whether it is worthwhile to persist in school or not.

That being said, an individual will only be moved by Obama's speech, and strive for success if he or she has an open mind towards it. That is to say, said individual is willing to accept others' ideologies, (in this instance, Obama's ideology) and follow through with it.

For someone who has a closed mind, on the other hand, he will obstinately refuse to believe in anybody else's ideologies except for those of his own. In this case, the individual will not appreciate Obama's speech, and will continue believing in what he wants to believe in. He therefore may or may not work hard to succeed; the choice is his.

Though quite profound and articulate, Obama's speech is not entirely capable of persuading his listeners to have a good work ethic towards school. In the end, it is up to each individual to decide what to believe in, which aspects to accept, and determine how hard he or she will work in order to triumph in school.

-Chloe Martianou