I do not agree with the Greeks. To be an orator, one does not necessarily need to be morally good. Many people can speak eloquently and use their rhetoric to persuade their audience to be at the mercy of their command. I have always been passionate about history and one episode that represents this point is the Holocaust. Many people to this day agree that Adolf Hitler was the most powerful speaker in history. He influenced many Germans to kill for the betterment of society. He was not a morally good individual. He based physical appearance on the purity of an individual. Those with blond hair and blue eyes were pardoned and were not taken to concentration camps. The killing of all the Jews was under his command and his usage of propaganda influenced a nation. In conclusion, the moral actions of an individual do not make one a great orator.
Hello Kolby,
ReplyDeleteIt is true that one does not need to be morally good to be a great orator, but I firmly believe that they should be morally good. The fact that the Greeks had placed a great emphasis on this is great because maybe then individuals like Hitler wouldn’t have had that power if he were not allowed to speak publicly? Maybe if the same standards applied in Germany when Hitler was coming into power, he never would’ve gained such a following because he lacks character? I guess the only question left is, who would have such a power to control who becomes an orator and who does not?
Hi Kolby! You used Hitler as an example of a good orator. Do you think that Hitler would have been more persuasive had his intentions been better? What I am getting at here is this: In a typical speaking situation, is a person more or less persuasive if the audience is aware of a character flaw? Selfish ambition? Would you personally listen to a speaker who is presenting about building a strong marriage if you knew that their marriage was dissolving or that the speaker had cheated on her/his spouse? How would that affect the audience? :)
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