Thursday, February 18, 2010

Speech Writers: Good or Bad?

Presidents of the United States have used speech writers for years. From one point of view, that may mean that we never know how our president really feels about the issues. The speech writers interpret what the power structure behind the president wants communicated and gives it to the president to read. With the issues so very complicated and important why not have the added protection of a literate group providing the president and through his/her voice give us insight into what should be done?

In fact, as we watch our presidents age visibly while they are in office and we recognize how enormously complicated the issues facing us are why should we expect them to completely understand all the issues. Many of the issues our nation faces are bound to impact the entire globe. Folk who are experts must advise the president at all levels, at all times about all things and that probably should include speech writing.

On the other hand, we all remember campaign promises that never seem to be priorities after the election has been won. We wonder what ever happened to those promises. It makes each of us a little more cynical than we were the year before. Circumstances change constantly and alter the actions necessary. "What ever happened to the person I voted for?" That's a question we've all asked at some point. The fact is, what ever happened to us that we have made so many changes and adaptations to fit our new positions in life. Change happens. We adjust and we understand that from our point of view. It is much harder to understand how our issues can be so easily abandoned by our president and congress.

So are speech writers a really good idea? Can you imagine presidents you don't like writing their own speeches? Can you imagine any of us actually saying what we think without some sort of filter? Speech writers are good to have if you hope to have a smooth running organization. Simple words poorly chosen can cause huge furors over things on which we don't really want to spend time and resources. The question isn't really are speech writers ethical to use, but instead are the folk who use them ethical.

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