Children's Era by Margaret Sanger
Why It Is Recognized As One Of The 100 Best Speeches?
It is one of the greatest speeches due to it's remarkable and radical specific purpose and outcome goal.
Sanger was able to critique the government and society in such a way that did not undermine their functions, but simply proposed a new perspective to society to persuade government officials' thinking...
Margaret acknowledged American government's efforts to donate to charities and philanthropies so that many " unwanted, unwelcomed, unknown" children can be taken care of and ensured a happy life; however, as Sanger points out in the second half of her speech, government intervention is still not enough, because " trainloads" of orphans and unwanted children kept coming. So her proposed perspective was to let women decide whether or not they should have kids. Sanger took a stance in favor of women and children to be. Margaret was a strong advocate for birth control, so she focused on the " Unborn Child" and how beneficial it would be to millions of unborn children if women prevented unwanted pregnancies.
A child who is not wanted or cannot be taken care of by a woman, should not come into the world-was Sanger's new perspective for society to process. She did not try to overturn government's efforts to help children, but argued to let every woman have control over their motherhood. Sanger proposed a new side to help resolve the problem. Her proposition hoped to influence official's choices in policy making, so that born and " unborn" children can have a happy and stable life in this hectic modern world. Moreover, her proposition and critiques of the government's effort to combat this problem forced her audience to accept a new point of view. Woman's and child to be point of view.
Rhetorical Purpose...
Margaret's rhetorical purpose was definitely to persuade the Committee on Birth Control and it's members for a change by proposing a new perspective. The fact that Margaret was an advocate for birth control should automatically let us know that she has a bias in her speech. Biased speeches are persuasive speeches.
Specific Purpose...
Sanger's specific purpose was to convince her committee members and the rest of society that the ONLY way to enforce safe heaven to many children was to make sure women were not forced to get pregnant and that unborn children were not forced into this world without proper care. This indirectly hinted on usage of contraceptives and birth control methods, for which Margaret was an heavy advocate for.
Still relevant today...
Margaret Sanger was the founder of first ever birth control clinic, which was renamed into Planned Parenthood Non-Profit Organization later in 1942. Planned Parenthood is a standing health care organization that provides vital reproductive health care and and sex education to millions in US and worldwide to this day.
Moreover, to this day many southern states continue restricting and banning Abortion laws and overturning the remarkable case Roe vs Wade, in which SCOTUS ruled in favor of a woman getting an abortion without excessive government intervention. Specifically, the most recent ban on abortion at six week of gestation happened in Texas on September 1, 2021. However, some argue that abortion is not contraception- government is still regulating whether or not a woman is to have a baby or not.
I think that this speech would still be as effective as it was in 1925, because of the strong sentiment it portrayed to convince society and committees that women should have control over their sexual and bodily decisions, not the government. Individualistic sentiment in Sanger's speech is still effective today, because women still fight for their individual right to decide and have independent decisions, not governed by any institution.
What I learned that can help me become a better speaker...
Incorporate analogies into your speech to help people understand your point of view and move the audience. In this case, Sanger used the garden analogy to portray how children must be taken care of like a gardener would take care of plants by plucking out the weeds. This analogy moves the audience to be sympathetic with her preposition later on in the speech, when she makes her stance.
Comments
Post a Comment