Nelson Mandela A Modern Oratorical Master - 776 Words

History has proven time and again, across every historical era and cultural period, that those who are capable of naturally delivering intelligent and inspirational oratory have the unique potential to inspire individuals to action, motivate the formation of mass movements, and effect social changes on a grand scale. Persuading people to embrace ideological ideals through the effective use of rhetorical skill has been a higher intellectual pursuit since the time of Aristotle and the ancient Greeks, with philosophers, politicians and public figures sharing in the study of oratory and its power to influence action. Throughout the span of human civilization the most momentous events have typically been preceded by the delivery of an impassioned, moving speech, from President Abraham Lincolns decisive Gettysburg Address spurring the emancipation of American slaves to Martin Luther King Jr. and his celebrated I Have a Dream Speech uniting a fractured nation. Of the modern oratorical maste rs, however, it is South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela who has transformed his innate rhetorical talents into the most lasting legacy of significant social progress. Mandelas blistering critique of the South African governments overtly racist policy of apartheid, delivered defiantly from the dock at his sabotage trial shortly before he was sentenced to life imprisonment, is considered by many to be a masterpiece of modern oration. His inaugural address to the newly