Running a Muddy Trail
The Power of Speech
{ 12:14, 15 February 2008 }
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Perusing the online version of the NY Times this morning, I came across a quote from "presidential hopeful, Mrs. Hilary Clinton" that made me respond aloud to the empty house, "that is NOT true." Mrs. Clinton said of her opponent, Barack Obama's tendency toward and skill in the art of rhetoric, “Speeches don’t put food on the table. Speeches don’t fill up your tank, or fill your prescription, or do anything about that stack of bills that keeps you up at night.”They DO though. I do not see the role of a president to lead the country around on a leash, feed us at the proper mealtimes and make sure we have a comfortable bed in which to sleep at night. I do not see the role of the president to be to determine our morals and personal choices of who or how we will marry, whether we will or won't have children or what sorts of foods we should or shouldn't be able to eat (or sell). These are our own responsibilities.
The role of the president is to make sure that we remain capable of and allowed to make our own decisions and plans. Speeches DO put food on the table. A powerful speaker has much more power (than, say, George W. Bush) because he or she can inspire an audience to action. And when the energy, ideas and motivations of the individual constituents of our country are directed towards a goal (say, putting food on the table, or paying bills) in a productive and unified way ... there is nothing that we could not accomplish.
Do I dream? Is this realistic?
Yes. And I don't know.
But dreaming is step one. And the value of clear and inspiring communication can not be overstated.
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