Greatest Political Speech of All Time?
In a year when political speeches are being made almost every day by the US Presidential candidates how do they measure up the what must surely be one of the greatest political speeches of all time?
No matter what your opinion of Dr Martin Luther King might be if you are at all fair minded you surely must appreciate his ability as a great orator. Just listen to the full “I Have a Dream” speech and see what a powerful delivery is made by Dr. King to a crowd of over one million people, black and white, who marched to Washington D.C. in protest of American’s long standing racist policies.
Of today’s candidates for President Barrack Obama is by far the most powerful speaker. But even as gifted of an orator as Barack is his speeches lack the passion and skill of Martin Luther King’s. Just carefully listen to the I Have a Dream speech. Dr King has perfect timing, perfect cadence, thoughtful words, a strong delivery.
Just words? Yes, but what words. Even a hard nosed bigot would have to be moved by the words, that is if they would only listen.
My advice to Barrack Obama. Do not be fearful of putting passion into your speeches. Watch the I Have a Dream speech. Watch it over and over. There is much for a politician to learn from that great speech.
My advice to Hillary Clinton and John McCain. Find new speech writers. Your speeches are all about you. Not about the increasingly unfortunate Americans that you are making a lot of meaningless promises to. Come to think of it Barrack needs to be careful about this issue too.
We need speeches that are issue driven. Speeches that set goals. Speeches that inspire. Speeches that are honest and that admit that there is room for improvement in America, not that we are a perfect, all powerful, rich nation whose task is to spread our brand of freedom and democracy worldwide, sometimes at the point of a gun, whether the people of other nations want it or not.Â
Promises of two chickens in every pot and that promise that the government will fix up everything and bail out everyone who has made bad financial decisions are not helpful.
Of course, I can see why candidates may want to hold back on what they say in speeches. Look at the end that Dr. Martin Luther King came to. And President John Fitzgerald “Jack” Kennedy. And his brother the youthful and promising presidential candidate Robert Kennedy.
There are powerful behind the scene forces in America that a politician doesn’t want to cross. Not if he or she wants to lead a long and fruitful life pursuing the American Dream.
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Excellent post!
There can be no doubt that MLK was one of the greatest orators in American history, perhaps THE greatest. He not only had a way with words, he delivered them with passion, fire and emotion, making his audience not just hear them but FEEL them deep in their hearts and minds. His timing and inflection was perfect.
I enjoyed your post. Keep up the good work!
Many thanks for the kind words.
Yes, Dr. King was quite the man with words and in making them come alive. Some say that he didn’t write all of his speeches, that he had help or “borrowed” from others. That I don’t know. Maybe yes, maybe no. But no doubt he was a highly skilled orator who could make the words fill with emotion and meaning to those who would listen.