You might think that the phrase ‘Yes We Can’ is fairly self explanatory. Apparently not! At least not in France, where the newspaper Liberation found it necessary to publish this article to try and explain the meaning and significance of this people-empowering concept to French leaders.
The article By Michael Foessel, Fracoise Gaillard and Myriam d’Allonnes says in part:
“‘Yes we can’ – that was the phrase. But in politics, saying the words is already to have commenced action. It’s the slogan that ignited America. So can it be exported? Let us decipher it for our politicians. … ‘Yes we can,’ is also a marketing slogan. Why not? If it reminds us that even a president cannot act alone – and that he can do nothing without us.”
By Michaël Foessel, Fraçoise Gaillard and Myriam d’Allonnes
Translated By Sandrine Ageorges
November 13, 2008
France – Liberation – Original Article (French)
By Michaël Foessel, Fraçoise Gaillard and Myriam d’Allonnes
Translated By Sandrine Ageorges
November 13, 2008
France – Liberation – Original Article (French)
Even when he talks of himself, Barack Obama speaks in the plural. “We the people”: these are the first words of the American Constitution, which he included in his speech in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008 [click photo below to watch]. The future president invoked the collective power [of the people] and reminded us that power must be shared before it can be appropriately used. Not the sovereignty of the individual nor the participative democracy of the French, this “we” appeals for the re-appropriation by citizens of a political destiny confiscated by the Bush administration. All throughout his campaign, Barack Obama has intertwined his positions with the desires of the people rather than simply imposing his wishes on others. The power of “we” is not a triumph of the will of “me.” This is, first and foremost, where the dynamic that carried him to the White House came from.
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