In our modern society, lack of motivation is a common problem. Many people simply don't have the ability to take on long, arduous tasks, or go through the difficult process of looking for a job, or even sometimes work on something they're passionate about. There are many different reasons why this problem has become normal, but I believe one of the most important is the supposed lack of something or someone that inspires people to work harder, or even to work at all. However, I think this is just because people don't look around enough, and J.D. Vance, “director of a major Silicon Valley investment firm,” and Barack Obama, “44th President of the United States and first African American to service in the office”, both tell stories that could clearly inspire people to work harder and also demonstrate how important inspiration really is. I believe that inspiration is not only vital in this day and age, but also that “Hillbilly Elegy” and “Howard University Commencement Speech” each uphold its importance especially in American society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayJ.D. Vance's "Hillbilly Elegy" was published by Harper and was printed on June 28, 2016. Meanwhile, Obama's "Howard University Commencement Address" was performed on May 7, also in 2016. "Hillbilly Elegy" was a life story of J.D. Vance, about his experiences growing up in Ohio and the difficulties of his upbringing amid economic and social problems, hoping to share his life stories to show how these problems have caused a drastic change in many people's lives . Meanwhile, Barack Obama's “Howard University Commencement Address” is a hopeful, uplifting, and at times even comical speech, given to inspire a group of graduating students to go on and achieve great things, as well as to talk about how much be better the world is, and could still be. Both works are very different in tone, composition and even authorship, but one thing is common between both; each of them holds up inspiration as one of the most important factors in American society, showing how it has helped them in difficult times. Barack Obama makes the argument for the importance of inspiration by referencing how far people of color have come and how it can inspire future generations to continue to aspire to do more. In his speech to Howard University graduates, he states: “When I was graduating, the main black hero on TV was Mr. T. Rap ​​and hip hop were counterculture, underground. [...] We are no longer just entertainers, we are producers, studio executives [...] we are CEOs, we are mayors, representatives, presidents of the United States." In this way, it speaks to how many African Americans have come this way away from being once counterculture entertainers, and how these achievements should inspire them to continue trying to aspire to better positions in life, a sentiment that is clearly demonstrated by the presence of 3 African American candidates running for office in the 2020 elections. Of course , the importance of inspiration lies not only in how it encourages others to aspire to higher goals, but also in how it can be used to set expectations, as JD Vance explains that inspiration should be the basis of expectations, but expectations should not be the same as what they are inspired by. As he mentions towards the end of the excerpt;?