Public officials w/Foot in Mouth Disease
My little character, FIMM (Foot in Mouth Man) is funny, but when you have politicians trying to set policy, you need to expect a bit more care when they speak. After all, they are using these facts or arguments in order to pass laws that affect the American people.
Unfortunately, there is an epidemic of Foot in Mouth Disease among our public officials these days. Some of them simply don't think before they speak and others just don't seem to have a firm grasp of the facts.
Here is Democrat, Peggy West, Milwaukee County Supervisor sharing her thoughts on the Arizona immigration issue. Um...Ms. West. You might want to look at that map again.
Here is Democrat, Paul Kanjorski, Congressman from Pennsylvania. Notice the reaction of the woman behind him. Rep. Kanjorski, you didn't really mean to say that minorities are "defective" and not average, good, American people, did you? [Warning for those with young kids. He does use one word you may not want your children to hear...or repeat.]
Any time you are making a speech, especially if it is in front of a camera, it's vital that you have a firm grasp of the issues and think about the words you use before you utter them. Once spoken, words take on a life of their own, but on camera, they live on forever on YouTube.
Credibility and sincerity are an important part of getting your point across. That's why Art of Eloquence provides so many communication studies for all ages and all communication situations. How you communicate is of utmost importance if you really want to say what you mean.
7 comments
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Oh I agree with you Kelly!
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How about just speaking well at all? Recently, the amount of cursing and foul language heard from elected officials – no matter what party – is appalling.
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Yes, JoJo, there are many elected officials that have spoken against AZ immigration law that have been caught and had to admit that they actually did not read the law or did not know facts about AZ or immigration. I also agree regarding the “foul” language comments. There are wonderful words in the English language. I wish people would use them instead of the foul language. I think the elected officials need to be more careful in their speech, as other countries are watching and hearing these comments. It makes the USA look bad. I think it is important for an elected official to represent the USA to the best of their ability. Maybe that is the problem—it is the best of their ability!
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What a great resource!
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Nobody speaks perfectly all the time, but some of our politicians appear not even to try to understand the facts before speaking or take care to speak respectfully.