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Friday, May 21, 2010

Shut Up and Walk!

Thomas Jefferson was considered the “silent member” of the Continental Congress back when he drafted the Declaration of Independence. Eloquent and masterful in his command of the written word, he was something less than a stellar public speaker. Considering the effect his writing had on the course of America’s history -- our very inception, really -- it would appear that silence truly is a virtue. Or at the very least, a highly useful skill.

I like it. I LIKE IT, A LOT!

Wouldn’t it be lovely if the influence of one of our founding fathers, our third President, could trickle down into today’s brash culture? A little less talk and a lot more action through the very real power of the pen – representing education and the freedom, responsibility, and authority which accompanies such pursuits.

There’s a whole lotta talk out there. Massive amounts of public speaking on an overdose scale. News jockeys presenting our facts ala the personal opinion forum. Thoughts come in to the brain, and they’re almost instantly regurgitated in a slightly altered but barely digested form. Much of what I hear leads me to conjecture that any writing put down before the talk is sketchy, barely formed, and most definitely not of the eloquent and masterfully commanding nature.

But it could be.

Presidents and leaders have speech writers. These people check facts, examine the subject matter with circumspection, and basically build in damage control. Call it spin if you like, but at least they consider cause and effect outside of the ego and apart from the id. They know words have power. They understand that oft times the pen is mightier than the sword . . . and more sensible than the mouth.

Good writers have a tendency to read aloud what they have written to check for continuity and flow. Recall your memorization of our founding document and feel how it rolls off the tongue, replete with sense and sensibility. Putting that habit into play with regularity might just alter the face of modern debate in religion, politics, and a host of other hot topics. Imagine telling our kids to write it down, check it over, then get back to me!

Might, I said. I’m guessing Mr. Jefferson had ears to hear something other than his own voice; he discerned what was beneath the words. It just may be that ol’ T.J. was one of a kind. A mold cast and then broken for eternity. If that is the case, there’s another area of common ground to which I can literally gravitate. Oh, and I’m totally habituated!

“Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very fast.”
  -- Thomas Jefferson

1 comment:

  1. Gotta love TJ!! This made Stevie very happy as Jefferson is his American Idol. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete