The Way You Say It

                I thought that Mussolini’s speech that we read was very interesting. Given the time period, the people her was addressing, and the state of their county one can see how this speech was used to motivate the people. Here they were, in World War II, scared and not knowing what to do, addressing a group of over confident soldiers who were going to go out and defend their country “till the last drop of blood”! This would have been a very moving speech as the whole crowd got swept up in the emotions of each other, the stupidity of the masses, and the worry, fear, and courage they were all feeling for the conflict that they were entering in to.

While this is not a wonderfully written to the point speech, it was a moving speech given the circumstances and the manner in which it was probably performed.  Being a dictator, or almost a dictator, probably helped instill the fear and awe in his audience of subjects to help expose such a reaction. All of the power associated with such a position strikes fear in to the hearts of the opposition and awe into the minds of the admirers. This is a very good example of how Hitler won over Germany. He swept in during a time of great need, where the people feared for the future and the state of affairs in their country. With his powerful presentation of speech and his convincing presence he won over the people who had been torn apart, stripped of all resources, and left with rules after the last war. Hitler gave them hope for a future as he united them under his control. It wasn’t until the concentration camps and all of his evil came out in to the open that the people realized that he had his own agenda the whole time and while he wished to restore Germany he was also crazy and bent on world domination while murdering whole people groups that he did not like or agree with.

The clip that we watched in class, where this speech is presented to a group of salesmen demonstrated the point that how you say it is most of the battle. If the people at the conference had been listening to the works of his speech, instead of the emotion and action with which it was performed, then they would have noticed who he was quoting and that the speech did not really apply to them. They were not preparing for war, neither were they gearing up for some great and dangerous act. They were going to leave that conference and go back to sit behind their desks, do their paperwork, and collect a paycheck. Nothing heroic or brave simply mundane. People should pay attention to what is being said and what is being applied before they grant their consent to the speaker.