Similarities Between Obama And Maya Angelou

Some people view a glass of water half empty, while other view the glass as half full. Some people tend to think that a viral internet dress was black and blue, while other thought it was white and gold. Some people are naturally born pessimists, while others are naturally born optimists. It is clear throughout both texts that both President Barack Obama and Maya Angelou are optimists, sharing the common belief that people’s similarities outweigh their differences. However, this belief is presented in slightly different ways.

One difference that President Barack Obama and Maya Angelou have in terms of conveying the belief that people’s similarities outweigh their differences is found in what this belief is rooted in. For example, in President Obama’s Speech on Race, he states, “...but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren.” However, in Maya Angelou’s Human Family poem, she writes, “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”

Although Obama would most likely say that people’s similarities outweigh their differences across the world, in his particular speech, he specifically addresses the United States of America in saying, “...this nation is more than the sum of its parts - that out of many, we are truly one.” However, in Angelou’s poem Human Family, she addresses everyone in the entire world by penning, “We love and lose in China, we weep on England’s moors.” By writing this, Angelou emphasizes that everyone from every part of the world still has feelings and still cares about certain aspects of life, so the human race continues to have more similarities than differences. Although Obama and Angelou both believe that people’s similarities outweigh their differences, they express this belief differently by addressing different