If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Options
Political Speeches - A thing of the past?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
"We will fight them on the beaches..."
"Never in the field of human conflict..."
"I have a dream.."
"Ask not what your country can do fo you..."
All classic political speaches, add to that the Gettysburg address and the Winston's Iron Curtain speech...
With the onset of soundbytes and the influence of TV in politics these days seldom do we hear a decent speech. Even GWB didn't rise to the occasion after 11/9 (not that I'm suggesting that he is a good speaker anyway) and that was an event crying out for a rabble rousing and defiant speech (akin to Winston's "Beaches")..Even Maggie Thatcher (who could get a crowd going) is best remembered for her "No, No, No.." speach than anything else
So, is the age of political speeches dead?
"Never in the field of human conflict..."
"I have a dream.."
"Ask not what your country can do fo you..."
All classic political speaches, add to that the Gettysburg address and the Winston's Iron Curtain speech...
With the onset of soundbytes and the influence of TV in politics these days seldom do we hear a decent speech. Even GWB didn't rise to the occasion after 11/9 (not that I'm suggesting that he is a good speaker anyway) and that was an event crying out for a rabble rousing and defiant speech (akin to Winston's "Beaches")..Even Maggie Thatcher (who could get a crowd going) is best remembered for her "No, No, No.." speach than anything else
So, is the age of political speeches dead?
0
Comments
Perhaps it is as much the listener - and the parameters of same - as it is the speaker?
But can anyone fail to be inspied by the defiance that the "Beaches" speech showed? We certainly don't seem to get such inspiration now. I mean, can you think of a single politician who actually inspires people?
When was the last time you thought "good speech" after you had listened to a politician, even a State of the Union address?
Really I don't think "I did not have sex with that woman" really cuts it, does it?
Actually, the four quotes given were all from the mid-Twentieth Century.
And yeah, GWB is no orator.
The type of people who become politicians these days are also not really up to the challenge. Winston Churchill had a passion behind his speeches. Tony Blair tries to please everybody, and come across as a great person, so you can easily read between the lines and see what he is really saying
"I love myself, and I'm talking crap. I love myself, and I'm talking crap."
Politics isn't about politics anymore, its about personal image.
Having said that, Geoff Hoon really impressed me on QTNY. I think he may play a big role in the future.