Smatters

I admit I’ve found politics pretty bland over the past few decades. That changed when Barak Obama stepped up and reminded Americans what a great orator can do to the political landscape.

Last week, an article in Salon reminded me just how lifeless the political rhetoric has been since the loss of JFK and Dr. King. Kids born since then haven’t had the opportunity to hear a truly inspiring orator. I hadn’t thought about it, but for some reason a recording of a dead orator, regardless of how brilliant, just doesn’t deliver the punch of a speech from a living orator, especially when heard live.

I suppose that’s what makes an orator “inspiring” as opposed to nice-sounding. A living orator can call people to action. If the orator is gone, we don’t know for sure if the orator is speaking to the world we face today.