Tag: Democratic National Convention

On Persuasion

Lights, sound, camera, ACTION!

He is back, still with “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow” for an entrance and an exit punch line “the Union, as conceived and committed to by the Founding Fathers.”

He systematically laid out the choices, an either-or.

He mentioned the opponent’s alternate universe , where 2+2 might not = 4.

Or…4 more years.

He wanted us to do some gut checks: are we letting them “double down” on ” trickle-down”?

Are we going to rob Peter (handicapped and seniors) to pay Paul (oil rich countries and outsourcing nations)?

Do you feel it? Maybe not yet. The lagging effect (from Fact to Feeling) of a barely resuscitated economy.

Against the Red, White and Blue background, and with proper acknowledgment of key supporting cast (Michelle, Biden and Hillary) while the cut-away shots kept showing Clinton’s First Kid (reminded me of the Kennedy’s clan,  just as Clinton’s goodbye  evoked Carter-like statesmanship) and seamless delivery of a well-crafted value proposition, President Clinton once again established himself  as a premier speech Master, if not, Magician.

He was more in control this time, but still on occasion, showed some emotion (I believe). And no doubt, he does care more for the world (Haiti) then just America, whose leadership in Education has slipped a bit (to no. 60).

I majored in Communication. Specifically, media. And I know a good speech when I see one. This one is for keeps.

Just as Reagan who concluded his reelection speech with a stunning visual “a shinning city on the hill, …” as he recounted a drive on 101 from Santa Barbara to San Francisco. Television tends to favors telegenic charisma (Kennedy over Nixon) and irresistible narrative (A man from Hope).  And we prefer personalities who can tell stories (not just sound bites) that make us feel a lump in our throat.  Last night’s speech at the Democratic Convention delivered a bowl full. Truth that hits home. Music that resonates. And a pitch that gets us on our feet. We need ALL the help, from both voters and viewers. I just know that speech was best in class. We communicate, cooperate and celebrate. Especially in hard times. Now we know who we are by the choice we made of our leaders. Both sides draw a nice picture. But this one spins really good and sounds really good. Talking about persuasion. I still believe in the idea of America, not Exceptionalism, but one as I would expect it to be.

When in doubt, bet on America, exceptional or not.

Chicago’s former self

I finished the epilogue to “the Devil in the White City” longing for more.

That’s how good the read was.

The architects and builders reached out to the sky, and in Ferris’ case, taking the people up with him for an amusement ride in 1893.

The Fair (DreamLand) later inspired DisneyLand.

But not all was quiet on the lake front.

We had a Jack-the-Rippper type abducting and mutilating women orginally drawn to bright light and big city.

Near the closing of the Fair, the mayor got shot, turning the Closing ceremony into a burial and burning of man’s monumental greatness

(White City turned Black City).

White City as it turned out cast dark shadows.

America in the Gilded Age.

Full of ambition and aspiration.

World leader in manufacturing and masonry.

Builders and dreamers.

The sky was the limit (not credit limit as of late).

Later, we had the Wright brothers and Frank-Lloyd Wright.

But during that period, just Westinghouse and Edison (GE), birthers of electricity.

Just Buffalo Bill and Fair builders trying to “outEiffel” Eiffel.

They had a race of a thousand miles, preferably to arrive at the Fair on the same horse.

One fair attendee from Poland who had used kerosene lamp all her life, upon seeing the city of lights, uttered “It’s Heaven”.

Unfortunately, only the train track remains (with dark fiber routes lay dormant). The rest was burned to the ground, with no regret. It was not  the first time the city was in flame. (Mrs O Leary’s cow would kick the lantern later to cause the Chicago Great Fire).

America’s second largest city has its current mayor who left the White House for the White City.

Chicago who hosted the Democratic Convention and its bloody confrontation during the Vietnam War.

Chicago with its boderos and board rooms.

Chicago, a school of economics, which favors “Adam Smith‘s invisible hand”.

Chicago South Side, in contrast to the White city.

Chicago, the band, with “Doesn’t anybody know what time it is”.

Chicago Chicago, the musical and Chicago World Fair, a memorial of America’s Imperial Past.

Its future and America’s are so inter-twined that its leaders had once been a community worker before entering the White House.

Chicago, my first great city outside of the insulated Happy Valley. To have finished “the Devil in the White City” to me was like to have my first taste of that Polish sausage and sauerkraut, or like that Polish girl who first saw electricity: it embodies human greatness and its possibilities (and its need for redemption as well). If only we launched another mandate to complete a World Fair with ensuing deadline, or “ask not…what your country can do for you”. In both instances,  Michigan Lake or Moon Landing, America rose to the challenge and out-shined its own complacency and comfort zone.