The Power of Speech

The Power of Speech

The Power of Speech

One of the most powerful fragments of a speech in modern times deals with the elusive elements of a dream. A dream is defined as images or ideas occurring in the mind during sleep.  A dream is "a vision of fancy", something "imagined during sleep".  It's also defined as something that happens "when indulging in reverie, to think idly".

To plan vaguely or to be unduly hopeful is the definition of a dreamer. A dreamer is also seen as a visionary. Americans come from a land of hopeful dreamers.  A place where visionaries crafted a constitution that was borne out of idle dreams that evolved into a nation forged from blood, sweat, toil and the tears of our ancestors.

This is the power of dreamers in a land of visionaries.  When Martin Luther King spoke, he captured the "vision of fancy" that was an enduring legacy for a generation of young people.  The power of speech is not lost on our people.

The best of our leaders have spoken to us of their dreams.  Martin Luther King spoke of a dream where black and white children could be judged, not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. This seems to be a fairly pragmatic and achievable goal for a dreamer.

John F Kennedy spoke of dreams in his speeches, but he was also a pragmatist and could temper his dreams with more practical suggestions. As the comparisons were recently raised between Barack Obama and JFK, I thought it was a good time to look at some of JFK's speeches and listen to his rhetoric.

"We must always consider," he said, "that we shall be as a city upon a hill--the eyes of all people are upon us."  Kennedy is quoting John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts, and this same city upon a hill is familiar to all who listened to Ronald Reagan invoke this memory twenty years later.
Kennedy said in a later speech, "For of those to whom much is given, much is required. And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each one of us--recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state--our success or failure, in whatever office we may hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions:
First, were we truly men of courage...;Secondly, were we truly men of judgment--...;Third, were we truly men of integrity...; and Finally, were we truly men of dedication..."Courage--judgment--integrity--dedication--these are the historic qualities that Kennedy cited to be arbiters of success for office holders.
But one of the most far-reaching and prescient speeches for our time dealt with the subject of war and world peace.  Here is what Kennedy, the dreamer and the pragmatist, said.  "...It is the most important topic on earth: world peace.
What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children--not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women--not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.
I speak of peace because of the new face of war. ...Today the expenditure of billions of dollars every year on weapons acquired for the purpose of making sure we never need to use them is essential to keeping the peace. But surely the acquisition of such idle stockpiles--which can only destroy and never create--is not the only, much less the most efficient, means of assuring peace?
I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war--and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task.
Some say that it is useless to speak of world peace or world law or world disarmament-and that it will be useless until the leaders of the Soviet Union adopt a more enlightened attitude. I hope they do. I believe we can help them do it. But I also believe that we must reexamine our own attitude--as individuals and as a Nation--for our attitude is as essential as theirs. And every graduate of this school, every thoughtful citizen who despairs of war and wishes to bring peace, should begin by looking inward--by examining his own attitude toward the possibilities of peace, toward the Soviet Union, toward the course of the cold war and toward freedom and peace here at home.
First: Let us examine our attitude toward peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many think it unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable--that mankind is doomed--that we are gripped by forces we cannot control.
We need not accept that view. Our problems are manmade--therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable--and we believe they can do it again.
I am not referring to the absolute, infinite concept of universal peace and good will of which some fantasies and fanatics dream. I do not deny the value of hopes and dreams but we merely invite discouragement and incredulity by making that our only and immediate goal.
Let us focus instead on a more practical, more attainable peace--based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions--on a series of concrete actions and effective agreements which are in the interest of all concerned. There is no single, simple key to this peace--no grand or magic formula to be adopted by one or two powers. Genuine peace must be the product of many nations, the sum of many acts. It must be dynamic, not static, changing to meet the challenge of each new generation. For peace is a process--a way of solving problems.
With such a peace, there will still be quarrels and conflicting interests, as there are within families and nations. World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor--it requires only that they live together in mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement. And history teaches us that enmities between nations, as between individuals, do not last forever. However fixed our likes and dislikes may seem, the tide of time and events will often bring surprising changes in the relations between nations and neighbors.
So let us persevere. Peace need not be impracticable, and war need not be inevitable. By defining our goal more clearly, by making it seem more manageable and less remote, we can help all peoples to see it, to draw hope from it, and to move irresistibly toward it"
Here's to the dreamers of this world and never deny the power of speech and the value of hopes and dreams.