One danger in speech writing is using terminology so obscure that your audience gets perplexed. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy did that in a speech on September 1, 2022 containing the following paragraph (my italics):
“The American experiment and the good people who believe in it have not said their last word. The electric cord of liberty still sparks in our hearts. The spirit of the Pilgrims, the Patriots and the Pioneers still inspire our souls. Our best days are ahead of us, not behind us. Our nation can flourish again and under a new historic Republican majority, it will.”
At HuffPost on September 2, 2022 there is an article by David Moye titled Kevin McCarthy referred to the ‘Electric Cord of Liberty,’ and people are confused whose subtitle noted McCarthy apparently was referencing something Abraham Lincoln once said long ago (on July 10, 1858). But the speech did not explain who, or when, or where, or why. Other comments noted that a sparking electrical cord is a fire safety hazard.
And another article the same day by Tommy Christopher at MEDIAite titled Morning Joe crew mocks Kevin McCarthy’s bizarre ‘Electric Cord of Liberty’ rant – joining White House staff and reporters has a video with that MSNBC show following a clip of McCarthy with a clip from the Simpsons animated TV show (showing Electric Shock Aversion Therapy).
And on September 3, 2022 at Wonkette there is yet another article by Doktor Zoom (Marty Kelley, here in Boise, who has a Ph.D. in rhetoric) titled Kevin McCarthy sings the body electric, twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom. The Doktor ran that paragraph through his woodchipper of rhetorical analysis. Back in 1858 ‘electrical cord’ was only metaphorical, not literally what now plugs into a wall outlet.
So, please don’t put a cryptic sentence like The electric cord of liberty still sparks in our hearts into your speech without explaining it.
No comments:
Post a Comment