As I mentioned in my previous post, I am quite happy to be living in this time. As I look around my new home, for example, I see a lot of modern conveniences that I definitely enjoy. I have a bottled water dispenser, so I don't have to worry much about the cleanliness of my drinking water. I also have a very nice ice machine, so I don't have to worry about drinking water that is anything less than glacial. I have multiple computers that are connected to the ether via Verizon's new FIOS product... the fact that I can achieve 15MB per second both up and down from this "series of tubes" (to quote a certain frightened old man from Alaska) is ridiculous and amazing. I am certainly spoiled...
However, as I also mentioned in my previous post, there are some things that were alive in the past that are at least endangered, if not extinct. I'd like to add to that list the idea of public discourse... and in specific, I'm talking about public speeches.
Much of what is considered literature today originated as a public speech. While we can (and probably should more often than we do) read these speeches, I know that some of the power of the words is lost when we can't hear the message as it was originally delivered. Here are some speeches that I've read many times... but I would give almost anything for the chance to have been there to hear them live:
Abe Lincoln's "Fourscore and seven years ago" address...
Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" rant...
Jesus' sermon on the mount (assuming I could speak Aramaic!)...
There are also some that were recorded... I've not only read them, but I've watched ancient videos or heard ancient recordings of the speeches. Still, the quality of these recordings haven't withstood the ravages of time - like Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech, or JFK's "Ask not what your country can do for you" address. The words are still stirring, but even now I am too far removed from that moment to feel the full impact of the speeches. My generation (and the generations that have followed mine) just isn't equipped to absorb all of what is available in an old speech, full of dated turns of phrase and colorful vocabulary and complex syntax.
My generation saw the beginning of the video game era, the start of MTV, and the coming-of-age of sound byte discourse. If you couldn't say it on a t-shirt, we didn't know it. "Where were you when the mountain blew?" (Mt. St. Helen's eruption). "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" (Reagan's shining moment) "I want my MTV" (Gen X's rallying cry of escapism)...
It's gotten even worse - while my generation had an attention span of roughly 24 minutes (1 sit-com minus a few words from their sponsors), that number has decreased exponentially with successive generations. I know kids who can't sit through a single 8-second rodeo ride without looking for their personal playstation game.
In the current state of our communications ability, I am rarely able to find anything that resembles the public discourse of old. While I'm sure it wasn't as rosy in reality as I seem to believe it was, I do believe things have gotten worse. Even among my own friends, it's difficult to talk about deeper subjective topics without having someone feel attacked. Religion, race, politics, economics - I can't even talk about these things in my own immediate family without someone going on the defensive immediately... maybe it's me...
Still, in the midst of all of this, I am still able to be amazed. Last week, Senator Obama delivered a speech in Philadelphia that was, at least on the surface, meant as a response to all of the hubbub surrounding the remarks made by his former pastor. If you haven't had a chance to see/hear the speech, or would like to read a transcript of it, check it out here on Larry James' blog from today (Tuesday, March 25)... http://larryjamesurbandaily.blogspot.com/
In my mind, this speech should be required reading/watching/listening for everyone who is (or wants to be) an American citizen. Yes, I realize that's a big sweeping statement - but I think this speech is that important.
Like all great speeches, I think it hits different people in different ways. Here's where it hits me... I am frequently angry that racism is still a problem in this country. In my mind, it should be relegated to the past, along with beliefs in a flat earth, blood-letting, and Pluto's planetary status. But this speech reminds me that our work is just not done. There are people who are still alive and well who were forced to ride in the back of the bus, or drink from a separate water fountain, or enter a restaurant from a different door (if they could get in at all). It just wasn't that long ago - those wounds are still relatively fresh.
In the same way that I am dumbfounded by those who argue that the Holocaust never happened (despite the fact that there are still living witnesses and participants, not to mention all the documentation), I am amazed that we expect African-Americans who lived through the 40s, 50s, 60s, etc. to just forgive, forget, and move on.
And the senator didn't stop there - with the anger of the African-American community. He eloquently expressed the feelings of much of the white community as well. Feelings of fear, resentment, jealousy, etc. that are just as valid as any other group's feelings... I forget that sometimes... Ok, I forget that a lot.
I hear words from older relatives and I cringe. I read articles and opinions by my peers, and I flinch. How can you think that? How can you say that? I forget that things aren't perfect for much of the white community either.
This speech won't solve the nation's problems. It won't heal all the wounds, provide for our futures, or erase all injustices... but it's a step - a powerful step forward. Of course, its momentum is immediately lost if people don't hear/read it, think about it, process it, and do something about it... but at least this first step was taken.
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