A Child's Lesson in Ethics (Ethics in Public Speaking)
DLE
SPC1017,
Writing Assignment #1, 11/2/13
A Child’s Lesson in Ethics
Looking back on my upbringing, I remember the practical guidance my parents imparted to me: look both ways before crossing the street, don’t talk to strangers, NEVER run with scissors. These pearls of wisdom still resonate with me and I practice them almost religiously. In addition, my parents gave me advice regarding communication: think before you speak, if you don’t have something nice to say then don’t say anything, say what you mean and mean what you say. What I wasn’t old enough to understand then but realize now, is that my parents were introducing me to the concept of ethical communication.
In The Art of Public Speaking, author Stephen E. Lucas states “Speechingmaking is a form of power and therefore carries with it heavy ethical responsibilities.”1 There are several guidelines to follow to ensure sound ethics in speech. A Speaker’s Guidebook identifies respecting the audience as one of the critical obligations speakers have to their audiences. The authors describe respect of the audience this way: “…[R]espect the audience by refraining from verbally attacking them, avoiding ethnocentric remarks, making stereotypes and using hate speech.” There are several famous (and infamous) speeches that disregard this important obligation. The 1963 inaugural address of Governor George Wallace, delivered at the Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama stands out as an example of this type of unethical speech for its emphatic use of both ethnocentric remarks and hate speech.
In the 1962 campaign leading up to his election, Wallace ran on a platform supporting racial segregation and attributed his win to that position. He believed it was important to demonstrate that as governor he would keep his commitment to the voters to fight against the integration of Alabama. He
leveraged his inauguration speech to deliver that message: "Today I have stood, where once Jefferson Davis stood, and
SPC1017,
Writing Assignment #1, 11/2/13
A Child’s Lesson in Ethics
Looking back on my upbringing, I remember the practical guidance my parents imparted to me: look both ways before crossing the street, don’t talk to strangers, NEVER run with scissors. These pearls of wisdom still resonate with me and I practice them almost religiously. In addition, my parents gave me advice regarding communication: think before you speak, if you don’t have something nice to say then don’t say anything, say what you mean and mean what you say. What I wasn’t old enough to understand then but realize now, is that my parents were introducing me to the concept of ethical communication.
In The Art of Public Speaking, author Stephen E. Lucas states “Speechingmaking is a form of power and therefore carries with it heavy ethical responsibilities.”1 There are several guidelines to follow to ensure sound ethics in speech. A Speaker’s Guidebook identifies respecting the audience as one of the critical obligations speakers have to their audiences. The authors describe respect of the audience this way: “…[R]espect the audience by refraining from verbally attacking them, avoiding ethnocentric remarks, making stereotypes and using hate speech.” There are several famous (and infamous) speeches that disregard this important obligation. The 1963 inaugural address of Governor George Wallace, delivered at the Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama stands out as an example of this type of unethical speech for its emphatic use of both ethnocentric remarks and hate speech.
In the 1962 campaign leading up to his election, Wallace ran on a platform supporting racial segregation and attributed his win to that position. He believed it was important to demonstrate that as governor he would keep his commitment to the voters to fight against the integration of Alabama. He
leveraged his inauguration speech to deliver that message: "Today I have stood, where once Jefferson Davis stood, and
References: 1. Lucas, Stephen E. (2012). The Art of Public Speaking. McGraw-Hill. p. 30. ISBN-13: 978-0-07-340673-2 2. O’ Hair, Dan, Stewart, Rob, Rubenstein, Hannah (2011). A Speaker’s Guidebook. Bedford /St. Martin. P.63. ISBN-13: 978-0312642860 3. "The 1963 Inaugural Address of Governor George C. Wallace". Alabama Department of Archives and History. 4. Torricelli, Robert G.; Andrew Carroll, Doris Kearns Goodwin (2000). In Our Own Words: Extraordinary Speeches of the American Century. Simon and Schuster. p. 228. ISBN 978-0-7434-1052-6 5. Boone, Christian; Ernie Suggs (February 21, 2008). "Reverend James Orange, Civil Rights Activist, Dies at 65". Operation Hope. 6. Lewis, John (September 16, 1998). "Forgiving George Wallace". The New York Times. 7. Rowan, Carl T. (September 5, 1991). "The Rehabilitation of George Wallace". The Washington Post. p. A21