As I walk to the front of the classroom, time seems to slow to a crawl. I take a glance at a sea of blank faces staring back at me. You would have thought I would be use to this sensation by now. I know what to expect and have been through these motions a hundred times, but as I walk up to the stage, determined not to cower in defeat, the notecards I grasp firmly in defiance quiver slightly exposing my sense of dread. So while I often triumph over this battle, I now stood atop that classroom stage preparing to recite the merits of James Madison that I had poured myself over the past few weeks. I had the lingering thought that throughout the sea of faces there were those who were paying less attention to what I was saying and more attention to how I was saying it.
This silent fear reflects that I grew up with a history of speech impediments. Spending countless hours as a child driving from one speech therapist to another, repeating a range of exercise from “fee-fi-fo-fum” to watching my tongue placement in a mirror, I was your
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average mixed bag of speech impediments. Fortunately, with the help of experienced professionals and endless support from my parents, I was able to put an end to all of my speech impediments. All but one. Until the age of 18, I spoke with a severe lateral lisp.
The odd thing about a lisp is that the speaker does not hear it himself. To him, his speech is just as normal as everyone else. It wasn’t until friends started comparing my speech to cartoon characters such as Sid the Sloth and Daffy Duck that I began to realize that I sounded different than everyone else. In a strange way, knowing that I had a lisp taught me a sense of determination that I feel one only learns when he knows he is facing adversity every time he opens his mouth to speak. Throughout high school, it was my mission not to let my lisp define me. Whether it was with a rapidly beating heart or a cold sweat trickling down my spine, I was determined not to shy away from public speaking or the often daunting task of speaking to anyone who was not a close friend. I was resolved though not to limit myself by the lack of self-confidence that my lisp instilled upon
me A large part of this story intersects with my senior year of high school where my mother was diagnosed with stage three-breast cancer. While she fought in a battle for her life, one that she would thankfully emerge victorious, I believe I grew in many ways. Through an increase in responsibilities and a new perspective on life gained through watching how fragile it can be, I realized a sense of drive and a yearning desire to improve myself. With this motivation and college rapidly approaching, I knew that if I wanted to improve this element of myself, now was the time. Regardless of the career or what I would confront in my personal life, there would inevitably arise situations where I would be reminded of my lisp. Whether I was ordering from Chick-fil-A, handing down my verdict in my aspirations of being a judge, or proposing to my future wife, I wanted to make sure that it was what I was saying that grasped the attention of my future audience, and not how I was saying it. It is with this determination that I sought out to rid myself of my lisp. I poured over countless reviews and sought out a well-acclaimed speech pathologist and with money I had earned from my part-time job; I put myself through speech therapy. I was determined to enter college an improved version of myself. The process of reinventing how I spoke is one of the most challenging things I have ever pursued. The entire process was very similar to riding a bike the same way for 18 years, and then being given the same bike and learning how to ride it backwards. While driving the half hour to speech therapy every other day, I would mimic the voices I heard on NPR and practice the things that were being taught to me by the pathologist. I knew that I had the opportunity to succeed and practiced every night, even though I was told repeatedly that there were no guarantees. It was because of this tenacity that I entered my first day of college without a lisp. When I have recounted this story to some of my closest friends, they always state that they would have never known that I had ever had this speech impediment. Living 18 years with a lisp taught me how to overcome my fears and not let anything stop me from being the person I wish to be. I feel that being so driven to go out and correct it on my own has taught me that there is no limit to how far I can grow and improve myself. I realize now that putting myself through speech therapy not only strengthened my determination but also made me realize a desire for constant self-improvement. This determination and self-improvement mindset followed me to college where I excelled academically, and has continued into the workforce where I strive for excellence and growth. Unabridged in my resolve that my determination and courage will not waver into the future; I am primed to start the next stage of my life in the study and practice of law.
He described stuttering as having a glass wall preventing him from moving forward, regardless of the attempts made. I believe that this is a sound description of the ongoing and difficult battle of stuttering. I also feel that many people can relate to Liben’s statement as they may also go through frustrating situations in their lives. However, it is important to remember that a person with a stutter experiences frustrating situations more frequently. Not only as a clinician, but as a human being, I will be mindful of the daily struggles that come along with a fluency
After reading the exchange between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison on the question of central importance to American constitutionalism—whether any Constitution, including the United States Constitution, needs to be positively reauthorized or not by every succeeding generation for it to remain legitimate, I believe that what Jefferson demands in his letter as in all too much else, is ignorance, even rage against the past. His principle on expiring the constitution and laws every 19 years would only result in weak government that offers no social continuity and stability.
'With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.' In the delivery of Lincoln's 'Second Inaugural,' many were inspired by this uplifting and keen speech. It had been a long war, and Lincoln was concerned about the destruction that had taken place. Worn-out from seeing families torn apart and friendships eradicated, he interpreted his inaugural address. It was March of 1865, and the war, he believed, must come to an end before it was too late. The annihilation that had taken place was tragic, and Lincoln brawled for a closure. The 'Second Inaugural' was very influential, formal, and emotional.
“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” This mantra from Margaret Mead is a somewhat humorous yet slightly satirical spin on how people tend to think of themselves as one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable human specimens. However, one English teacher from Wellesley High School takes this critique one step further with his polemic presentation at the school commencement. David McCullough, a Massachusetts English teacher, gave a seemingly somber sendoff to his graduates in 2012, with a speech that contained some unapologetically harsh sentiments. However, by looking past the outwardly dismal surface of the speech, the students can infer a more optimistic message. By incorporating devices of asyndeton, paradox, antimetabole, and anadiplosis, McCullough conveys to each student that even though none of them is unique, their commonality is not a fault they all have merit and should strive to view the world through a more selfless lens.
On September 17, 1787, the Philadelphia Convention sent their new constitution to the states for ratification. The Federalists highly approved of the Constitution because it allowed for a more central and powerful government that was previously undermined under the Articles of Confederation. The Anti-Federalists, however, didn’t want a powerful central government, but, instead, powerful state governments; in response to the Constitution, many Anti-Federalists began writing essays and creating pamphlets as a means of arguing against it. In retaliation to the Anti-Federalists attempt at getting states to not ratify the Constitution, many Federalists developed a group of essays known as the Federalist Papers, which argued for the ratification of the new law system.
Madison’s View of Governmental Structure In 1787, when a series debating argued about the approval of the proposal of the United States Constitution, James Madison and other federalist published several articles in the newspaper of New York to defend the proposed Constitution. In Madison’s writings, he explains the origin of faction, the harm of the factions, and the methods to protect the government from the violence of faction. His view of human nature is realistic and insightful.
During his entire life, James Madison, who is one of the founding fathers, contributed many dedications to the States, especially when creating the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. As the fourth president of the U.S, he consciously chose to create a new model of presidential power that he thought would fit better with the system of the separation of powers after seeing “the danger overwrought executive power poses to republican constitutionalism” (Kleinerman). Despite of having such good intention, some of his actions led the country through some significant suffers.
James Madison, an American statesman and political theorist that was present at the constitutional convention. Many of the ideas proposed by Madison are part of the reason that the Constitution has withstood the test of time. Madison was ultimately prepared to deal with one of the biggest problems this new government would face in his eyes, factions. Factions, which as defined by Madison are “a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community” (Madison 156). Madison addresses various ways that he sees factions can be cured of its mischiefs such as removing a faction’s causes and also controlling their effects. Madison points out that this is would potentially create an even bigger problem than the factions themselves by stating, “Liberty is to faction, what air is to fire, an ailment, without which it instantly expires” (Madison 156) Madison also stated that the way for a government to remove the cause of faction was either to destroy the liberty that causes factions to exist in the first place or to give every citizen the same beliefs and opinions. Madison deemed this impractical, because it is nearly impossible to give everyone in a given place the same opinions and destroying the liberty would take away the very thing that the colonies fought for 4 years earlier. The fact is Madison knew that the country wouldn’t be able to count on a well-educated statesman to be there any time a faction gets out of hand. Madison knew the only viable way to keep factions under control is not to get rid of factions entirely but to set a r...
We Shall Overcome Rhetorical Analyses Throughout the history of the United States, racial discrimination has always been around our society. Many civil rights movements and laws have helped to minimize the amount of discrimination towards every single citizen, but discrimination is something that will not ever disappear. On March 15, 1965, Lyndon Baines Johnson gave a speech that pointed out the racial injustice and human rights problems of America in Washington D.C. He wanted every citizen of the United States to support his ideas to overcome and solve the racial injustice problems as a nation. Throughout the speech, Lyndon Johnson used several rhetorical concepts to persuade the audience.
John Quincy Adams once said that, “It is among the evils of slavery that it taints the very sources of moral principle. It establishes false estimates of virtue and vice: for what can be more false and heartless than this doctrine which makes the first and holiest right of humanity to depend upon the color of the skin?” John Quincy Adams be of the opinion that slaves were equal to the “white man” and should not be treated like animals but as equals. Agreeing with John Quincy Adams, he discusses inequality, a point that needs to be emphasized, since the Declaration of Independence “that all men are created equal” and that it is not followed completely by all fellow “Americans”. According to him, “we have
One of Lincoln’s most famous quotes is “A House divided against itself cannot stand.” This describes his presidency well- focusing on maintaining the Union. In the beginning, Lincoln tried to stay out of sensitive affairs involving the North and South in an attempt to keep them together, promising the South little interference. Despite this, he played a key role in passing the Thirteenth Amendment, doing whatever it takes to end slavery for good and ending the Civil War.
James Madison was born in 1751; he was the oldest of 12 children. He was from a wealthy Virginian family. James was a small child and was not healthy or rambunctious; he spent a lot of time reading. He was married later in life to Dolley Payne Todd and had no children. Madison attended the College of New Jersey which later took the name of Princeton University; he took a liking to history and politics, that opened bigger doors for the soon to be president of the United States.
At the age of eleven James Madison was the oldest of his siblings and he began to peak an interest in intellectual earnestness. At age eleven Madison began schooling with a Donald Robertson. Robertson’s school was located in King and Queens County, Virginia. Robertson received his education from the University of Edinburgh. Robertson ran an extremely rigorous school of cla...
During my demonstration speech, I was affected by my speech anxiety. Some of the viewable symptoms were the shaking of my hands and also the stuttering of speech. I was able to control myself and relax after I started getting into my information. I did use some of the suggested relaxation techniques to relieve my anxiety. Before I got up to speak I thought confident of myself to help give me courage and confidence.
"IIIII Can Can Can't Heeeelp It: Stuttering to the Truth" "Stuttering is something the stutterer does, not something he has, because of something he is." -- Wendell Johnson Can you imagine not being able to introduce yourself without struggling to pronounce your own name? What would your life be like if you had to battle every time you said "hello"? How would you feel if a mob of security guards surrounded you at Wal-Mart because an employee had mistaken you for being mentally ill ((1))? These are just a few scenarios that 42-year-old Kurt Salierno, a carpenter and minister from Atlanta, encounters everyday.