How To Deliver an Inspiring Speech
The best speeches in modern history, the importance of voice in oration, and removing the hyphen to preserve MLK's dream while ending BLM's nightmare - tribute to Gonzalo Lira at the end
Comrades: Tomorrow is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
MLK’s “I Have a Dream” is one of the most iconic speeches in history. The man’s life and legacy are complicated, but he inspired the world with his words. 60 years later, the most famous line of his speech has been twisted upside down through demoralization:
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
MODERN REIMAGINATION: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but not by the content of their character. I have a dream that they will one day become well paid DEI commissars and marry the white men who they claim oppress them. I have a dream that the Karens of Boston, Maskachussetts will remove a Lincoln statue and then erect a statue in my honor that looks like a turd. I have a dream today!”
I have a dream that we remove the hyphen. We are all Americans first. Instead of African-, Asian-, or Hispanic-American, we should say American first. American of African descent. American of Korean descent. American of Mexican descent. American of Italian descent. American of Irish descent. Or just simply American. Out of many, one. Subvert the subversion of our bought and paid for politicians who seek to divide us for profit and power.
Removing the hyphen and making English the official national language would go a long way in restoring unity. BIPOC, AAPI, Latinx, and Black with a capital B are all weaponized terms to further divide us with identarian socialist demoralization. Extra spicy take: if BLM activists moved back to Africa, they would be just as detested there. Most Africans I have met who live there or recently immigrated are based, hard-working, good-natured people - the opposite of the lazy, entitled, destructive BLM crowd. Never forget the BLM founder’s grift where she used donations to buy a walled-off multi-million dollar property in 98% white Topanga Canyon.
I am sure this audience will have strong opinions about MLK and my proposals; you are welcome to sound off in the comments. However, the core of this post is not about him or me. It is about the lost art of oration. When was the last time 250,000+ people gathered to see a speech?
Voice is highly underrated part of communication and persuasion. How you say something matters much more than what you say. A pleasant voice boosts charisma, gravitas, and attractiveness. Morgan Freeman, David Attenborough, and Sean Connery have immortal vocal cords. In contrast, an ugly voice is an instant turn-off. The up-speak verbal fry of Alexandra Occasional-Cortex, Katie Hobbs, and the Karens are worse than nails on a chalkboard. We should all be mindful of speaking more slowly and using fewer filler words. I never liked the sound of my own voice, but have hosted a dozen podcasts to train on improving. All speaking is public speaking.
Part of what makes soccer fun to watch is the soothing voices of British commentators. Rebecca Lowe is one of the best in the business:
The world would be a very different place if Thomas Sowell had the rhetorical skills and media adulation of MLK or Obama.
One of the main jobs of POTUS is to give speeches. Obama was anointed a deity after his 2004 DNC speech. He is always polished and smooth, but never says anything memorable except “You didn’t build that.” Trump is the exact opposite with his improv insult comic style. Although he spoke at a middle school level, many of his phrases will stick around for generations - “Make America Great Again”, “fake news”, “deep state”, “crooked Hillary”, “sleepy Joe”, and of course “COVFEFE”. His 2020 State of the Union speech was the most statesmanlike he ever gave, then the Dem’s dirty tricks took him down.
Americans used to lead the world with epic speeches, but that has declined with demoralization like many other areas of society. President Teleprompter and Vice President Word Salad are the opposite of inspiration. They demoralize the world every time they open their mouths. The Biden/Harris regime campaigned from basements and drew tiny anemic crowds, while their staffers Tweet on their behalf. YouTube disabled the dislike button because The White House channel was getting ratio’d so hard. Yet we are supposed to believe they received 80 million votes, 7 million more than Trump and 15 million more than Obama.
Yuri original Downfall parody meme
In my mind, these are the most memorable speeches in recent history. Many of the best speeches over the past few decades have been in movies. What are your favorites?
JFK’s Inaugural Address: “Ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country.” As a straight white man who was an NRA member and stood against endless wars and the deep state, he would be considered a far-right MAGA Republican today. His assassination and LBJ’s Welfare State ushered in the final stage of demoralization.
Eisenhower’s Farewell Address: “We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence by the military industrial complex.” JFK and DJT tried to push back, but the MIC took them down.
Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ commencement speech at Cardigan Mountain School: “From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty. Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time so that you don’t take friends for granted. I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either. And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then, your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship. I hope you’ll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion. Whether I wish these things or not, they’re going to happen. And whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon your ability to see the message in your misfortunes.”
Steve Jobs’ commencement speech at Stanford: “Stay hungry, stay foolish.”
Julie Hartman’s 2022 Commencement Speech deserves a Yuri subverting subversion award. The last patriotic Harvard student tried to warn us:
William Wallace rallying the Scots against the English: “Aye, fight and you may die. Run and you’ll live, at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!”
Independence Day final battle: “And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice we will not go quietly into the night, we will not vanish without a fight, we’re going to live on. We’re going to survive. Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”
Hall of Shame: Most modern speeches are complete fluff about the current thing. Michelle Bailhe delivered such a commencement speech entitled “I Don’t Know”, then proceeded to lose Sequoia $214M on FTX/SBF years later. You can’t make this up.
The Most Embarrassing Venture Capital Write-Down of All Time: How Sequoia lost $214M on FTX and Did Not Hold Anyone Accountable
I’d also like to express my appreciation for my high school speech and debate coach. He spent entire weekends with us annoying teenagers traveling to tournaments around the state and country. The oratory skills and competitive spirit I learned from him continue to serve me well. Highly recommend this activity for all kids, it’s one of the few real life skills you learn in K-12 education.
Finally, RIP Gonzalo Lira:
Good Citizen is Gonzalo’s cousin and penned a beautiful tribute. Worth watching the 5 minute video: “We only have a finite amount of time to live our lives. Focus on the things you can control, and focus on the things you enjoy. The time you have is the only time you’re ever going to get. No matter how much money you have, or the connections you have, there’s nobody to talk to, there’s nobody to pay, you can’t get any more time.”
Yuri Streisand effect in action. Anytime someone is censored, canceled, or in this case permanently silenced, I will amplify them. How long until he is unpersoned in death and YouTube removes his magnum opus?
Seems to me nuland should be on a terrorist watch list from every nation on earth. The cunt.
Great examples of great speeches sir! Reagan’s “A Time for Choosing” and his farewell address to the Nation in 1989 were both all-timers. Surely tho, no one in living memory can beat Dr. King.
Also, you are 100 spot on about high school speech and debate. Being forced to think on your feet early, and on nights/weekends, really helps prepare kids for future success. A proper (non-woke) legal education is up there too. Both are great equalizers, in terms of upward mobility and good in their own right.
Keep it up good sir!