MLK Day

January 18, 2010 by Jerry 

mlkday

Today marks the national Federal holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the great civil rights leader. It also marks a Day of Service organized in his honor to encourage volunteering.

Dr. King was one of the most noted public speakers in American history. His speeches roused audiences to powerful responses. His rhetorical reach extends back to the Greek orators and forward to Barack Obama. The Greeks used a technique called anaphora, or the repetition of the first word or set of words at the beginning of successive sentences or phrases. In Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech during the 1963 March on Washington, he used the title phrase 16 times.

Barack Obama, in his Inaugural Address in 2009, used anaphora several times. One was the subject of a prior blog; another, in which he began five consecutive sentences with the word “to.”

                To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

                To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society’s ills on the West,
                know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.

                To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you
                are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

                To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let
                clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.

                And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to
                the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect.

Anaphora is a classic technique, because it has endured for over 2,000 years. Use it in your presentations. Today’s equivalent is in corporate slogans.

                Where do you want to go today?

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