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| Kamala Harris |
Kamala Harris’ speech at the virtual Democratic National Convention broke ground because of who she was. Her presence was dramatic in itself. After all, she is the first minority woman nominated by a major party to be Vice President of the United States. Harris’ presentation was scripted, cautious, and accessible. The Democrats’ convention goal seems to be to show that they are the sober, careful party that can heal the nation and restore order. Harris reached out to all Americans, while, at the same time, touching base with the traditional Democratic Party voters.
Harris' Theme
Harris’ theme was “equality, liberty, and justice for all.” Her point was to include everyone. The American flags arrayed behind her reinforced that she was taking heart from those Jeffersonian values. She stated that thesis right off:
“That I am here tonight is a testament to the dedication of generations before me. Women and men who believed so fiercely in the promise of equality, liberty, and justice for all.”
She started talking about women voters, especially Black women voters. She jumped into the the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote:
“This week marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment. And we celebrate the women who fought for that right.
"Yet so many of the Black women who helped secure that victory were still prohibited from voting, long after its ratification.
"But they were undeterred.
"Without fanfare or recognition, they organized, testified, rallied, marched, and fought—not just for their vote, but for a seat at the table. These women and the generations that followed worked to make democracy and opportunity real in the lives of all of us who followed.”
Harris then mentioned several female heroes of the Civil Rights
movement: “Mary Church Terrell and Mary McCleod Bethune. Fannie Lou Hamer and
Diane Nash. Constance Baker Motley and Shirley Chisholm.”
Harris told inspiring family stories and mentioned her South Asian heritage. This was important in two ways: first, she noted the historic fact of her nomination, while, at the same time, she headed off the ongoing racist smears about her ethnic background.
Continuing the theme of inclusiveness, she noted “structural racism,” which she said caused these evils:
“...inequities in education and technology, health care and housing, job security and transportation.
“The injustice in reproductive and maternal health care. In the excessive use of force by police. And in our broader criminal justice system.
“This virus has no eyes, and yet it knows exactly how we see each other—and how we treat each other.
“And let's be clear—there is no vaccine for racism. We've gotta do the work.”
Calling racism “this virus,” she drew attention about the coronavirus without mentioning it. Harris also made an implied dig against President Trump’s sexual proclivities when she reviewed her career as a prosecuting attorney:
“I've fought for children, and survivors of sexual assault. I've fought against transnational gangs. I took on the biggest banks, and helped take down one of the biggest for-profit colleges.
“I know a predator when I see one.”
Harris repeatedly emphasized voting, for example:
“People of all ages and colors and creeds who are, yes, taking to the streets, and also persuading our family members, rallying our friends, organizing our neighbors, and getting out the vote.
“And we've shown that, when we vote, we expand access to health care, expand access to the ballot box, and ensure that more working families can make a decent living.”
She was right about that. The ballot box is what matters in our political system.
Language Style
First, unlike the intellectual speeches we heard from Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Harris’ carefully-scripted speech was accessible. Her speech ran between the sixth and seventh grade level on the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level measurement. Since not all voters are highly educated, Harris and her speechwriters were wise to tone down the big words.
Earlier Post: Did Bernie Sanders Talk over People's Heads at the 2020 Democratic Convention?
Second, although Harris’ speech was more readable than Sanders’, it was not totally listenable. The text still reads like an essay, not like a speech in oral style. Although Harris' rich, pleasant voice was expressive and personable, it was still obvious that she was reading. Some speakers can read a speech and sound conversational. Harris isn’t good at that.
Consider, for example, this stilted sentence from her speech:
“That's the vision that our parents and grandparents fought for. The vision that made my own life possible. The vision that makes the American promise—for all its complexities and imperfections—a promise worth fighting for.”
Does anyone talk like that? Of course not. Does anyone, even in a formal meeting, say things like “for all its complexities and imperfections – a promise worth fighting for?” You know that they don’t. No one does. That’s written style, not oral style. The sentence twists too many ways to sound good out loud.
Finally – and here comes one of my pet peeves – no one should ever begin a public speech by saying something so trite as, “It is truly an honor to be speaking with you.” Stale. Overused. Wordy. Hackneyed. If, heaven forbid, I were ever to run for public office, I would fire any speechwriter who wrote something like, “It is truly an honor…” Ny friend and colleague, Professor David Ritchey, said that when you use an adverb, the reason is that you’re using the wrong verb. Furthermore, “truly” is one of the English language’s worst adverbs. It sounds fine in the King James Bible, but nowhere else. If you want to say something true, just say it. Don’t remind people that it’s true by saying "truly." Good speakers always choose the opening sentence with care, and no careful speaker should start by saying, “It is truly . . .”
In other words, as my high school music teacher said, you need to begin and end well. The audience won’t care if you mess up in the middle, but they do notice a bad beginning or ending.
To give her credit, Harris' ending gave a dramatic call to action. She said that actions count more than words:
"And we will tell them. We will tell them, not just how we felt.
"We will tell them what we did."
Conclusion
Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech reached out to a broad group of Democratic voters, encouraged people to vote, and attacked Donald Trump. She mostly tried not to be polarizing. Although her personable delivery helped, her speech was stilted, which is bad, but safe and inclusive, which is what she wanted.
Presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks tonight. His job is to be safe and memorable. Let's see what happens!
Image: US Senate photo
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