Obama’s oratorical skills

GREEK philosopher Plato was Socrates’ protégé. He believed in his mentor’s assertion that every society has, or should have, a three-tier structure: productive, protective and governing.The last bit, he thought, should be the domain of rulers or philosopher-kings. It has been more than two millennia since this theory sparked off an interesting debate, and to date is the topic of heated discussions.Perhaps one of the underlying suggestions of the idea was that people with a philosophic bent of mind usually know how to make a notion, however convoluted, sound buyable by being eloquent. Leaders who can articulate themselves usually garner overwhelming mass support compared to those who can’t make themselves clear when they address an audience.It remains to be seen whether the new US president, Barack Obama, pulls a rabbit out of his top hat and helps turn our world into a place worth living in again. But what’s as clear as day is the fact that he has won millions of fans all across the globe through his remarkable oratorical skills.Even in countries where English is not spoken as a first language, Obama is listened to with utmost interest. Millions of men, women and children were transfixed to their TV or radio sets when he delivered his inaugural speech after taking oath of office on Jan 20. Even in Pakistan, all of a sudden there were boys who were seen wearing Obama T-shirts and girls praising his style no end.The most striking news came from Japan where someone gathered many of Obama’s speeches and made it into a textbook. It was sold as an aid to learning English and became a best-seller.No less than 400,000 copies of the textbook were bought by the Japanese public in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. The 95-page paperback has the US president’s speeches from the 2004 Democratic National Convention and during the Democratic Party primaries.This makes one wonder: when was the last time Pakistan had an eloquent leader who could blow away the masses with his public-speaking skills? Two names spring to mind — M.A. Jinnah and Z.A. Bhutto — and then there’s an eerie blank space. Benazir Bhutto could also dot her i’s and cross her t’s literally, but compared to her illustrious, livewire of a father, she had a fair distance to cover.Like many other art forms, the art of delivering a convincing speech doesn’t come naturally to Pakistanis. That’s why we usually take our leaders’ promises with a pinch of salt. They never sound trustworthy. Their words lack auditory value, a major component of the art of conversation.But when it comes to being foul-mouthed, we beat the entire world hollow. Take note of that during our favourite pastimes that include sit-ins, processions and speeches on the floor of the national and provincial assemblies.