Home > COMMUNICATION: LANGUAGE & SPEECH > TED KENNEDY SPEECH TO MORAL MAJORITY. >

TED KENNEDY SPEECH TO MORAL MAJORITY.

Analyzes goals, obstacles, strategies & success of 1983 talk at Liberty Baptist College entitled "Truth & Tolerance in America."

Details

Citations 13

Citation Style MLA

Sources 7

Pages 6

Price: $24.00

From the Paper

TED KENNEDY SPEECH TO THE MORAL MAJORITY
This essay discusses a speech given by Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy at Liberty Baptist College in Lynchburg, Virginia on October 3, 1983 to 5,000 students and townspeople, most of whom were adherents of the Reverend Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority, analyzes its background, goals and rhetorical obstacles and evaluates the strategies used by the speaker for overcoming those obstacles as well as the success or failure of the speech.
Background
Senator Kennedy's speech which was entitled "Truth and Tolerance in America" came about in part by accident. Through a computer error, Senator Kennedy was included in mid-May, 1983 on a mass membership solicitation mailing of the Moral Majority and was offered Membership No. B0500878. The Senator's office leaked

"Kennedy Hectors Falwell." Los Angeles Times 4 Oct. No man is beyond redemption" (Wrong B 12). For example, in advocating separation of church and state, hesaid that it "cannot mean an absolute separation between moral principlesand political power." He stayed away from some controversial areas, suchas, for example gay rights to which he knew the Moral Majority was hostileyet still made his point that the nation remains committed to the principleof religious liberty. Inissuing his plea for tolerance, he said "we will always respect the rightof others to differ --that we will view ourselves with a sense ofperspective and a sense of humor." He pointed out that Falwell had beencriticized by strict fundamentalists by including various faiths in hiscoalition, including Catholics, and had thus "become the target of narrowprejudice." To make several of his points, he used examples and languagefrom the Bible. Hementioned that Falwell had been called a "warmonger" which he said wasfalse. Someprolife advocates have turned to violent acts such as the bombing ofabortion clinics. He showed respect for fundamental tenets of theMoral Majority above all the firm commitment to "moral principles . for one of thebest speeches he has ever given" (A 3 ). Kennedyrecognized that risk at the beginning of his address when he said that "itwas easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for aKennedy to come to the campus of Liberty Baptist College." Many of the positions taken by Senator Kennedy were anathema tomembers of the Moral Majority. Senator Kennedy told Cal Thomas, aVice President of the Moral Majority that "he knew [you] are not at allhappy with President Reagan but this is ridiculous" (A 3 ).Thomas told the New York Times that the membership offer would not bewithdrawn, stating that "we'll offer him an opportunity to atone for hispast political sins. In commenting on the impracticality of using the state to imposemajoritarian views on private matters of conscience, he pointed to thefailure of Prohibition, a law which was never popular in most of the South.The Moral Majority had supported the State of Israel to which Kennedy addedhis support. TheSenator's office leaked the error to the New York Times which wrote ahumorous article about it (Wrong B 12). The Moral Majority Right or Wrong? Strategies for Overcoming Obstacles Kennedy used a number of devices to overcome or sidestep theseobstacles. Some, such as Jimmy Swaggart or Jim and Tammy Bakker, fell fromgrace because of their sexual or financial excesses. In any event, Senator Kennedy by this and other similar speeches hasbeen a voice for civility and moderation, which on the occasion of hisOctober 1983 speech was delivered effectively. B 5 878. According to Randolph, who madethe speech the lead headline in the Los Angeles Times, "although most ofhis audience steadfastly disagreed with his message, they gave Kennedy,their primary liberal opponent, standing ovations as he began to speak andafter he finished" (A 1). Works Cited"A Moral Victory." Newsweek 17 Oct. Everyone appears to accept their concern forstrengthening family values these days of declining welfare rolls and lowerrates of illegitimate births. Success or Failure of the Speech The success or failure of a speech can be measured in several ways.One is the effectiveness of its style in communicating to the audience.There, Newsweek said that "he was getting applause . He avoided another hot button, school prayer, butmentioned another abortion on which his difference with the Moral Majority,while, important did not extend to outright opposition.His criticism of the eschatology or belief by many fundamentalists in thecoming end of the world was perhaps an unnecessarily irritating referencewhich he could have avoided. TED KENNEDY SPEECH TO THE MORAL MAJORITY This essay discusses a speech given by Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedyat Liberty Baptist College in Lynchburg, Virginia on October 3, 1983 to5, students and townspeople, most of whom were adherents of the ReverendJerry Falwell's Moral Majority, analyzes its background, goals andrhetorical obstacles and evaluates the strategies used by the speaker forovercoming those obstacles as well as the success or failure of the speech. She said that after the speech, nineteen year oldstudent Melanie Smith said that "I appreciated the fact that he came downhere" (A 7). In recounting efforts to establish a framework of religiousliberty in colonial days, he threw in a reference to Virginia havingharassed Baptist preachers, an obvious reference to the Baptist affiliationof many fundamentalists. Religious extremist voicescontinue to bellow over issues such as abortion and gay rights. Abortion and gay rights remain as very liveissues. Kennedyshowed no interest in becoming a member but when Thomas invited him tovisit Liberty Baptist College, he offered to speak there. . In his book, Listen America, published in198 , Falwell had said that "both godless communism and secular humanismhave infiltrated society and will eventually, unless stopped by a return tomoral principles, destroy the nation" (Webber 15). After consideringthe matter, Falwell arranged the speech and sent his private plane totransport the Senator, his sister Jean Smith and his daughter Kara toLynchburg. Another way to measure the impact of a speech is whether it causedanyone to change their mind or behavior. In his speech, hestated that his goal was "to discuss my beliefs about faith and country,tolerance and truth in America." Rhetorical Obstacles In facing a hostile audience, Kennedy ran the risk of antagonizinghis listeners or in failing to engage their interest because the languagehe was accustomed to using might well be misunderstood by them. Background Senator Kennedy's speech which was entitled "Truth and Tolerance inAmerica" came about in part by accident. In arguing for the protection of religiousminorities, he pointed out that the Moral Majority, despite its name was aminority and could at some future time become a persecuted one. . It may well be that the political influence of theReligious Right has peaked. Evaluation of Speaker's Strategy Overall, Kennedy made use of one of the first rules of good publicspeaking, find ways to identify with your audience while at the same timemaking his central points. He indicated he was in favor of a nuclear freeze and Falwellwas against it, but defended Falwell's right to take that position. Whether it represents is a threat to the separation ofchurch and state and civil liberties is largely dependent on one's ownpolitical orientation. At thesame time, he took political risks by opposing efforts by the RomanCatholic Church to place pressure of candidates Mario Cuomo and GeraldineFerraro to endorse a legal ban on abortion. In a speech deliveredby him on the subject of 'Faith and Freedom' to the New York Coalition ofConscience on September 1 , 1984, he said that "there is a long and unhappyhistory of intolerance which still flourishes at the extremist fringe ofAmerican politics" and "we cannot let this pluralistic society descend intoa collection of competing and embittered groups" (Herbers, A 1). Even Falwell gave Kennedy a backhanded compliment, saying that"you might have gotten to a few of them tonight, but I'll get them back" (A31). TheChristian Coalition has a broader base and has moved more toward thepolitical center while still stressing many of the themes first advanced bythe televangelists. "Section 3: Historical Background of the Religious Right." Internet: http:// www.aclu.org/about/right3.html 1996: 1-6."Church and State." Internet:http://www.pbs.org/newshour/ gergen/reed_6-6.html 6 June 1996: 1-4.Herbers, John. The Moral Majority wasfor a strong national defense, the teaching of literal creationism inschools, the restoration of prayer in the public schools, and againstpornography, gay rights, loose morals, and the breakdown of the family,issues on which liberal Democrats in general and on some of which Kennedyin particular after the Chappaquidick incident was especially vulnerable. He was the embodiment of the Americanliberal political establishment which Falwell regularly attacked.Televangelist Falwell had founded the Moral Majorityin 1979 "to spearhead a national Christian political organization thatwould apply pressure to the Republican Party on abortion and other socialissues" (American Civil Liberties Union 3). "Kennedy Chides Church Leaders on Role of State." New York Times 11 Sept. 1984: A 1 and A 26.Randolph, Eleanor. Through a computer error, SenatorKennedy was included in mid-May, 1983 on a mass membership solicitationmailing of the Moral Majority and was offered Membership No. Some fanatics, such as Rousas Rushdoony's ChristianReconstructionists, advocate views such as imposing the death penalty onhomosexual actors, those who elect to have or perform abortions or commitadultery (American Civil Liberties Union 4). Falwell's MoralMajority collapsed in 1991 to be replaced by his Liberty Federation whichhas less influence than before, mostly because Falwell proved to be a pooradministrator and because, according to Ralph Reed of the ChristianCoalition founded by Pat Robertson in 1989, Falwell "did not havesophisticated, well-trained lay grassroots leadership" (Church 3). Westchester, ILL: Crossway Books, 1981."Wrong Number." New York Times 16 May 1983: B 12.----------------------- 1 Ted Kennedy had becomeconcerned in the 198 s by the rising temperature of radical and intemperatepolitical rhetoric coming from the religious right. The Moral Majority had helpedelect conservative Ronald Reagan president in 198 against whom Ted Kennedywas considering running in 1984. . AsFalwell put it to Thomas in mulling over the invitation to Kennedy, "someof our people see him as the devil incarnate" (A 3 ). He sprinkled his speech with humor to relax his audience. 1983: 3 -31.American Civil Liberties Union. . His brother, John Kennedy, had defused the religious issue in the196 presidential campaign by his speech to Protestant ministers in Houstonin which he reassured them that a Catholic president would honor the FirstAmendment's prohibition against the establishment of a state church or theinterference by Catholics in affairs of state. The setting reluctantly afforded him by Falwell seemed to Kennedy asa heaven sent opportunity to get his point of view across to an admittedlyhostile audience and to appear willing to beard the lion in his den. Speaker's Goals Senator Kennedy has at various times in his career spoken out on thesubject of religious tolerance and in favor of the separation of church andstate. forthey go to the deepest well springs of our being." He sugarcoated some ofhis points. The halcyon days of the late 7 s and 8 s of the televangelists havepassed. 1983: A 1 and A 7.Webber, Robert E.

Ask a question about this product

Also Search for TED KENNEDY SPEECH TO MORAL MAJORITY. in all categories

Related Essays

"AMISTAD."
Examines heroic character of Cinque, a slave in 1998 film directed by Steven Spielberg.
How Has Obama Responded to the U.S. Health Care Crisis?
This paper discusses the controversy raging around President Obama's proposed health care plan, explaining the major controversies and why the issue has appeared on the political agenda. It examines what Obama promised to do during his presidential campaign and how well he has kept his promises and what factors are influencing the debate.

Become a Premium Member. Buy all pre-written essays for only $2 per page! AND Get $1 of store credit for every $10 you spend!

Testimonials

This makes all the difference.

The staff and writers are true professionals. They are honest and helpful. If you order from them, you are in very good hands.

I'm so happy!

I used to have such a terrible time with writing, but not any more. This company has taken one of my most stressful college experiences and made it easy!

The Best Service Ever!

I really do appreciate Research Assistance. I'm not a good writer and the service really gets me going in the right direction. The staff gets back to me quickly with any concerns that I might have and they are always on time. Thanks a million for your excellent service.

Subjects

Show all subjects...

TED KENNEDY SPEECH TO MORAL MAJORITY.

Related Essays

Related Pages

Your cart

Testimonials

Subjects