Hope in Hostility?
- Victoria Elizabeth
- Nov 29, 2023
- 4 min read
President Biden's 2023 State of the Union address was very positive despite the heavy negativity throughout the nation.
Congress gathered in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on February 7th this year and listened to President Joe Biden's address before a joint session of the Congress on the State of the Union. It is the president's duty to give an address on the State of the Union before a joint session, and President Biden's was very positive despite the negative political atmosphere. Whether this was an attempt to move things further along in Congress or President Biden's genuine optimism is not clear, but that's what we will discuss.
"...I've never been more optimistic about our future, about the future of America. We just have to remember who we are. We're the United States of America. And there's nothing - nothing - beyond our capacity if we do it together." - President Biden
President Biden's overall message of the speech is that we ("we" meaning the nation) must work together despite all the challenges and differences we've been facing as a country. He implores Democrats and Republicans alike to find common ground in Congress, especially when there are so many global, political, and social issues that need to be addressed.
And though I completely understand his sentiments, I must admit that his speech felt too painfully optimistic to be truly effective. The president used a bit of humor to address the obvious political divide, not only in Congress but in the nation as a whole, which has arguably been the worst it has ever been. And while he addressed the record high tension among Congress, President Biden also made a point to explain that the U.S. is doing well. Unemployment rates have dropped considerably, inflation has also gone down, and the U.S. has come out of the pandemic stronger than it was going into it.
I don't keep up with all the little political and economical details of our nation, but as a citizen, it certainly doesn't feel like we're doing well. Numbers may be going down and the country may be recovering from COVID, but not so much that it warrants such praise and optimism. While personally, I think having hope is admirable, the current state we live in makes these high levels of hope feel much too unrealistic to believe in.
Both CNBC and CNN covered the speech, and while each made a few jokes regarding the hostility in the room in the face of President Biden's optimism, CNBC and CNN remained as neutral as possible. In line with traditional media, both articles seemed to keep to the facts of the event, remaining largely unbiased with only a few comments that expressed disagreement with the president's statements.
CNBC's coverage was slightly more objective than CNN's, choosing to inform the public through a play-by-play of the speech and its contents, as well as the audience's reaction to the president. CNN's, however, delved deeper into President Biden's claims and conducted some additional research to support or dispute parts of his speech. Several times, CNN explained that though many of the president's claims were true, much were only true on a technicality and not in the manner that President Biden expressed.
Social media coverage is a different story altogether. Just on Facebook alone, almost everyone who commented on the platform expressed their obvious disdain for the speech, regardless of their political leanings. Whether it was for what many people considered as "Biden's lies," or for Congress's poor behavior throughout the address, social media portrayed the event as one big joke.
For the most part, my own understanding of the speech aligns with CNBC and CNN's coverage. These forms of traditional media also debated the merits of President Biden's optimism and questioned the validity of his claims, but understood the overall message he was trying to convey. In this case, I think traditional media is a reliable and trustworthy source of information. Biased opinion may be sprinkled among the facts, but audiences just need to be aware of the political leanings of the publication as they read.
Social media, on the other hand, is not as reliable or trustworthy. There are too many opinions and claims fueled by emotion and biases, and all it does is encourage the division that President Biden pointed out all throughout his speech. Even if these opinions are rooted in facts, the heavy political leanings make social media unreliable, hurting true democracy when everyone chooses sides based on biases.
No matter how composed and dignified politicians act in public, both traditional and social media find ways to twist their actions and words to suit their own ideas. It makes any political communication difficult to trust and understand, but that has been the state of overall journalism for quite some time now. It's concerning to think that it may only get worse.
President Biden's speech may have been questionable in certain cases, all of which were addressed in traditional and social media, but his message was clear and, in my opinion, valid. The president's plea was for the nation to come together despite all the problems we're facing, and the public's response to his speech only proved why he needed to say it in the first place.
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