for the record : 「二つのアメリカ」とエドワーズの「型」

2008年選挙最強の飛び道具（？）、オバマの演説の魅力を取り上げたからには、2004年選挙で発揮された、エドワーズの演説の魅力にも触れたくなるのが人情である。実際に、2004年の選挙でエドワーズが使った「二つのアメリカ（Two America）」演説は、未だにエドワーズの代名詞といわれるほど印象的だった。その一方で、その印象が強かっただけに、エドワーズは「どちらのアメリカに属しているのか」という批判に晒さられる危険を抱えているのも事実である。

と、ここまで書くつもりだったのだが、肝心の「二つのアメリカ」演説のトランスクリプトを探すのに手間取ってしまったので、今日のところは、「名作」を紹介しながら、エドワーズの「型」について触れておきたい。

以前取り上げたように、オバマの「型」は、いろいろな出来事を結び付けて、大きな議論を作り上げることだ。これに対して、エドワーズの「型」は、架空の個人が登場するストーリー（寓話)を使って、メッセージを伝えることである。

「（今夜)アメリカのどこかで（somewhere in america…）」で始まることの多いこのストーリーには、幾つかのパターンがある。自分が一番好きだったのは、レイオフされた父親の寓話だ（これを探すのに手間取ってしまった）。例えば、この2004年2月10日の演説。記録に残す価値はあると思うので、長めに引用しておこう。

　　And the reason it's important is because tonight a father will come home from work, something he's done many times year after year after year, coming home from his job at the factory where he's worked for many years -- work he's proud of. He's proud of what he does, proud of the work he does, proud of what he makes. He makes something, his factory makes something that the American people need, that the American people buy.

But the difference is when he comes home tonight, he'll have something different to say to his family. He'll come home to see his little girl, who he has seen every night. In fact, she's the end of his night every night. He knows his night is over when he gives her a hug. But tonight, when he comes home, he'll be coming home to tell her that his factory is closing, that he's about to lose his job, that, in fact, his life and his family's life is about to change.

And it's not because he's done anything wrong. He's done what he's supposed to do. He's been responsible. He's worked hard. He's raised his family.

It's not because the product that his company makes is no longer going to be made. They're going to continue to make it.

The problem is, they're going to make it somewhere else. They're going to make it somewhere outside of his community, outside of his country.

His life will change forever when he looks into the eyes of his little girl tonight. His family's life will change forever.

この話とつながっているかのように、娘の立場からの寓話もある。2004年2月3日の演説からどうぞ。

　　　Tonight -- tonight -- somewhere in America a 10-year- old little girl will go to bed hungry, hoping and praying that tomorrow will not be as cold as today because she doesn't have the coat to keep her warm; hoping and praying that she doesn't get sick as she did last year, because it means 24 hours waiting in an emergency room to try to get medical care; hoping...

... hoping that her father, who lost his job when the factory closed and has not been able to find steady work, will actually get a job that allows him to provide for his family.

She's one of 35 million Americans who live in poverty every single day, unnoticed, unheard. Well, tonight we see her, we hear her, we embrace her, she is part of our family and we will lift her up.

And she is, and her family is, like millions of Americans that work hard every day, struggle to get by. These are the Americans no one pays attention to, they're unheralded, they're unnoticed.

The truth of the matter is this: They are heroes in our America. They are the reason I'm running for president of the United States.

And the message I want you and I to send loud and clear to all those millions of Americans: Tonight we see them, tonight we hear them, we believe in them. We will lift them up. We will give them hope and we will give them back the White House.


「二つのアメリカ」とは関係ないが、04年の民主党大会では、エドワーズはイラク戦争の問題を寓話の手法で語っている。

　　Tonight, as we celebrate in this hall, somewhere in America, a mother sits at the kitchen table. She can't sleep because she's worried she can't pay her bills. She's working hard trying to pay her rent, trying to feed her kids, but she just can't catch up.

　　It didn't use to be that way in her house. Her husband was called up in the Guard. Now he's been in Iraq for over a year. They thought he was going to come home last month, but now he's got to stay longer.

　　She thinks she's alone. But tonight in this hall and in your homes, you know what? She's got a lot of friends.

寓話の手法は、伝統的なフォーク歌手の手法である。かつて尾崎豊が、ジャクソン・ブラウンのようにメッセージを伝えたいといったのも、まさにこのやり方を意識していた（..知らないですかね）。初期のブルース・スプリングスティーンの作品なども、その伝統を受け継いでいる。同一（と思われる）人物が繰り返し違うストーリーにでてくるのも、エドワーズの語り口と同じだ。

「寓話」のミソは、誰もが感情移入できるような、ありそうだけれど、架空の物語である点だ。それでこそ、大上段に振りかぶるよりも、メッセージが伝わりやすくなる。だからといって、中途半端に実話を使うと、その信憑性を突かれてしまう危険がある。

ここで、ゴアの「犬の薬の値段（だったかな？）」の話を持って来たかったのだが、これも捜索に時間がかかりそうである。しつこくなって申し訳ないが、「二つのアメリカ」の落とし穴と併せて、明日以後に持ち越させて頂きたい。