Today, on the official observance of Martin Luther King’s birthday, here’s a reminder of what the fuss is all about:
A few years ago, I heard a report on NPR that noted that among African-Americans, people are actually desensitized to the “I Have A Dream” speech. It’s actually overplayed; people hear it so much, so often, and in so many contexts, that people are more or less numb to it.
And that’s a shame bordering on cultural crime; in an era when public oratory seems a dying art, when the likes of Barack Obama are considered “great public speakers”, listening to one of the greats – Reagan, Thatcher, JFK, Churchill and of course King – is both a thrill and, in a way, almost retro. The idea of being able to move people, not just with words but with rhythm alliteration, repetition for effect, assonance, structure and tone – seems almost a lost art.
It’s a crying shame.
I agree.
I also believe that all forms of communication; written, daily, formal and informal, verbal and non-verbal, etc.has degraded the same way as you describe oration. Perhaps since we can now communicate so rapidly and immediately, we no longer have to give thought to the composition of our messages beyond what is necessary to convey its bare substance.
Joe,
Yep.
Ironically, it’s one syllable that gets the whole message across.
🙂
!
~
“I have a dream” has been replaced with “Where da gold at bitch?”
MLK could never have foreseen the burning cross replaced by the much more effective donkey.
Mitch:
It’s sad that people say King will favor their view point today when he made it so clear what he stood for. Of course to go against what I just said here, but for man who is admired for saying that a person shouldn’t be judged for the color of their skin will say they shouldn’t be judged by how much money they earn. Oh and they should be allowed to keep what they earn.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN