One part inspiration...
Peter Levine offers a take on the competing ideas of manipulation and eloquence in politics.
I think his point is a good one, and I've struggled a great deal recently trying to come to terms with my own internal conflict about the power of rhetoric in modern political discourse.
I think he may be a bit off in how he approaches the issue, however. The conflicting ideas are not manipulation and eloquence, but manipulation and inspiration.
I too am frustrated that political messages today are focus group and consultant tested to the point that they say next to nothing at all. I don't object to the practice of focus grouping messages or even object to the influence of consultants. I think both of these inputs can be valuable in the hands of a politician with courage to stand behind his arguments, and who is not afraid to challenge those who listen to him once and a while. The problem is the message itself, not the route it takes to get there.
We have a great deal of manipulation - through fearmongering of various sorts, half truths regarding policy implications, and good old fashioned obfuscation. What we lack is true inspiration. Sure, someone like Barack Obama occasionally shows flashes of inspiring rhetoric, but he hasn't really called anyone to action yet.
Therein lies the major flaw in contemporary political rhetoric. We are told many things, but nothing is really asked of us. That is what separates inspiration from manipulation. Even if Lincoln had focused group the Gettysburg Address, it's likely he still would have asked us "to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced." The closest we've come in recent memory is being inspired to purchase big ticket items to spur the economy in the wake of 9/11.
Inspiration can come from focus group tested rhetoric, it can even come from consultants. But it must come from a leader who is not afraid to ask those listening to contribute something. That is the point at which private virtue becomes a public voice, and that is what we are sorely lacking in politics today.
I think his point is a good one, and I've struggled a great deal recently trying to come to terms with my own internal conflict about the power of rhetoric in modern political discourse.
I think he may be a bit off in how he approaches the issue, however. The conflicting ideas are not manipulation and eloquence, but manipulation and inspiration.
I too am frustrated that political messages today are focus group and consultant tested to the point that they say next to nothing at all. I don't object to the practice of focus grouping messages or even object to the influence of consultants. I think both of these inputs can be valuable in the hands of a politician with courage to stand behind his arguments, and who is not afraid to challenge those who listen to him once and a while. The problem is the message itself, not the route it takes to get there.
We have a great deal of manipulation - through fearmongering of various sorts, half truths regarding policy implications, and good old fashioned obfuscation. What we lack is true inspiration. Sure, someone like Barack Obama occasionally shows flashes of inspiring rhetoric, but he hasn't really called anyone to action yet.
Therein lies the major flaw in contemporary political rhetoric. We are told many things, but nothing is really asked of us. That is what separates inspiration from manipulation. Even if Lincoln had focused group the Gettysburg Address, it's likely he still would have asked us "to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced." The closest we've come in recent memory is being inspired to purchase big ticket items to spur the economy in the wake of 9/11.
Inspiration can come from focus group tested rhetoric, it can even come from consultants. But it must come from a leader who is not afraid to ask those listening to contribute something. That is the point at which private virtue becomes a public voice, and that is what we are sorely lacking in politics today.
posted by Patrick at 9:52 AM
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