Nathan Newman wrote:
>It's kind of amazing the assumption that speeches at rallies should be
>forgettable. From union rallies to civil rights rallies, some of the most
>memorable rhetoric in history, that the media picked up and played over and
>over again, came from speeches at podiums at such rallies.
-Well there was MLK's "I have a dream," for sure, but how many orators -like that do we have? What else do you have in mind? Almost -everything I've ever heard at rallies has been dull.
Part of my argument is that this problem is not restricted to the antiwar movement but to the general broad left, which due to a unity coalition structure hands out speeches for internal organizational reasons rather than strategic media or even audience-enteratining reasons.
Many smaller demos I've gone to or single organization actions have had quite good and informative rally speakers who sought to educate those attending any any media attending about the issues at stake. Off the top of my head, I could cite some of the Yale Union rallies I attended in New Haven that had quite well planned speakers who educated me and others about both the issues at stake and the long-term plans of the union. They used the speakers as a way to increase the sophistication of those attending to go back and talk to fellow students or towns members. Actually, most union rallies tied to specific organizing campaigns have been worth listening to just on that basis.
As far as more general policy rallies, I thought the Jubilee Debt Relief rally back in 2000 in DC had pretty good speeches, nothing "I have the Dream" quality but also not the repetitive dreck from most of the recent antiwar rallies.
Surprisingly (or maybe not so much), one of the best speeches from recent antiwar events was the one Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins made in tandem at the October NYC New York rally and Sarandon made on her own a few weeks later in DC. It first made a broad analysis of the danger of rising fundamentalisms in the world, identified the fears that many people have post-911, then identified the danger of business fundamentalism coming from the Bush administration (echoing Tariq Ali a bit). It was entertaining (not surprising) but also moving and substantive. But very much the exception.
-- Nathan newman