The Greeks believed that to be an orator, an individual had to be morally good. As much as I would like to agree with the Greeks, unfortunately I disagree with such belief. One might not be entirely dishonest in his or her moral principles, and still be considered an orator. A great example would be one of the former presidents of Brazil, Fernando Collor de Melo. Although he impressed many people with his eloquent speeches over the course of his presidential campaign, it turned out that he was extremely dishonest with his country upon being elected.
Melo was so dishonest that his impeachment was inevitable in 1992. Regardless his dishonest character, nobody can say Melo is not an orator. He was able to manipulate the elements “goodness”, “truth”, and public communication to achieve his goal to become the president of Brazil. And due to some people’s ‘short memory’, Melo was elected as Senator in 2006. All he did to return to the political arena was to manipulate goodness, truth and public communication.
In the end, THE best orators – those I truly admire and I use as my mirrors are the ones who indeed employ goodness and truth in their public communication.
Ibirapuera
W16 - Discussion Question # 3
16 years ago
Hello! I definitely agree that a good orator does not necessarily mean they have to be morally good. I think it's true that persuasiveness qualifies someone as a strong orator. My mom is from Brazil and i've heard her talk about Melo before, it's interesting for you to use him in this context because I never would have thought to use him, great idea! I feel like Hitler is such an obvious example of a morally wrong person/yet good orator, however you used a more recent example which is refreshing. I am shocked to hear he is a Senator now, do you feel as though he is still speaking deceptively and with bad intentions?
ReplyDeleteAnd do you think he used ethos, pathos or logos?
:)
This is a great up-to-date example of an orator who was not morally good. Typically, one would choose the nefarious characters of Hitler, Mussolini and such, so this is really a nice more contemporary example.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the best orators are those who truly and sincerely convey a sense of truth and goodness within their public communication, especially since their words, actions and even simply their figures are seen by the masses. Since they are in the spotlight where people are watching and following, they should not abuse that power and thereby manipulating truth and goodness within the public sphere and public communication. In all, truth and goodness can only be conveyed within public communication based on the circumstances of a situation, most notably the character of an individual.
Thanks, Tulip. :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, he is now back to the Senate.
I will never believe him again. He was able to reach the highest political level and took it for granted. Why would I trust him again?
In my understanding Melo used ethos, pathos, and logos to acomplish his goal to become president.
Ibirapuera
Hi Scorpiochild2803,
ReplyDeleteThank you! :-)
If we are talking about qualities that "the best" orators, and not only "orators" should have, then I agree with you that being morally examplar should be one of the number one qualities of the best orators.
Ibirapuera