Revisiting Rhetoric
"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" is a good question to be asked these days and it would be a fine thing to hear such sentiments expressed in a speech that was inspiring. Although I confess to not going out of my way to listen to politicians, when heard, they have not impressed me with either what was said or how it was expressed. Our Prime Minister would not be characterized as 'charismatic', but slack should be given because he has to speak in two languages, neither of which is spoken by the last President of the United States. Although Trump was not known as an elocutionist, he somehow seemed to electrify his followers and turn all the hats red. One of the many mysteries of that administration that has yet to be solved.
This topic has surfaced because of a book review I read. Consider this post as a PSA (Public Service Announcement - I felt I had to clarify that; gents my age are more familiar with PSA as a test.) Information is provided about the book, the review and, most importantly, will include audio sources that will allow you to listen to hundreds of speeches.
The book is authored by Simon Sebag Montefiore and, according to the publisher:
In this exuberant collection, acclaimed historian Simon Sebag Montefiore takes us on a journey from ancient times to the twenty-first century. Some speeches are heroic and inspiring; some diabolical and atrocious. Some are exquisite and poignant; others cruel and chilling. The speakers themselves vary from empresses and conquerors to rock stars, novelists and sportsmen, dreamers and killers, from Churchill and Elizabeth I to Stalin and Genghis Khan, and from Michelle Obama and Cleopatra to Ronald Reagan, Nehru, and Muhammad Ali.
The review is written by Jeff Shesol who should know whereof he speaks since he wrote speeches for President Clinton. Even though Clinton favoured the 'aw shucks', conversational style, it was still likely a lot of work to produce a talk that seemed like just a talk. Shesol's review of this book is generally favourable, but he notes it is hard to picture a present-day politician dog-earing the pages of a speech anthology and studying, as Kennedy did, the cadences of Churchill? Two other speech anthologies are mentioned in the review, one of which was given to Kennedy as a gift - A Treasury of the World's Great Speeches. The other is, Lend Me Your Ears by William Safire. The full review of Voices of History: Speeches That Changed the World is in this article: "An Anthology of Great Speeches, From the Inspirational to the Ominous," Washington Post, July 9, 2021.
Commencement Speeches
One would think such speeches should be inspirational and motivational and if you want to listen to some, here are three sources for doing so:
This database goes back to Kennedy's 1963 graduation speech at American University and the most recent as of today is Vice President Kamala Harris speaking at the Naval Academy in May 2021. There are nearly 1000 speeches and one can search by name and key word to find ones of interest.
This site has not been updated since 2015, but it still contains over 350 speeches. This database is also searchable.
If you want to listen to speeches by women, start here. All kinds of categories are covered. You can begin with "Anti-slavery," and move on through subjects like marriage, nature, sports and war. Or you can listen to Bette Davis speaking at the Hearings at Congress about "Equal Pay For Equal Work." It even has Commencement Speeches.
The Bonus:
If you want to nurture your talent for public speaking, here is the website for Toastmasters.
If you just want to listen via the Internet, see my earlier post - Sound. There, you can even listen to the few sounds to be heard in the Olympia National Forest, which is supposed to be the quietest place in the U.S.
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