"Words, Words, Words, I'm so Sick of Words"

Holy smokes! What a speech! That former president can sure woo folks - what a gift! And now - the current president, who is also capable of giving Earth moving speeches is going to accept the nomination of his party. It is going to be a great event! I can't wait to hear all the words about this and about that. Words, words, words...

In the musical My Fair Lady (adapted from Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw), Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a  phoneticist, so that she may pass as a well-cultured lady. After weeks and weeks of trying to learn proper diction, frustration spills over and she sings "words, words, words, I'm so sick of words".

I understand what she was talking about, albeit in a slightly different manner. I am sick of hearing speeches written by highly paid writers which sound wonderful and deliver nothing. In fact with many speeches, I think about the soliloquy from Act 5, Scene 5, of Macbeth:

 

told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
signifying nothing.

Early in my career I was assigned a huge project. I worked for hours on it and once finished, my boss was unsatisfied with the final product. I was crushed. I told him how hard I worked, all the hours I put in. His response was sage advice - "At this company, we don't pay for effort, we pay for results. A finished product that meets or exceeds all expectations is all that counts".

I have similar feelings when Iistening to a speech. They are just words, words, words unless an end result meets or exceeds my expectations. Also, if unsuccessful on an assignment, I could not imagination blaming my predecessor, the client, a coworker or the weather. Even though  common and acceptable in politics these days, in most careers that would be a suicide pill.

I will continue to listen to political speeches, but not that closely. I am often reminded of the campaign promise "a chicken in every pot" from Herbert Hoover. Many slogans were introduced by Hoover supporters, often without direct input from Mr. Hoover. The link between Hoover and the phrase "a chicken in every pot" can be traced to a paid advertisement which apparently originated with the Republican National Committee, who inserted it into a number of newspapers during the 1928 campaign. The ad described in detail how the Republican administrations of Harding and Coolidge had "reduced hours and increased earning capacity, silenced discontent, put the proverbial 'chicken in every pot.' And a car in every backyard, to boot." The ad concluded that a vote for Hoover would be a vote for continued prosperity. Lots of words, lots of promises, a very poor outcome. Even though not his fault, many historians blame Hoover for the Great Depression which happened under his watch.

I don't need a government supplied chicken in my pot, and the country does not need it either. We need someone to come in, tell the truth, and solve problems san blame or excuses. Show me someone who operates that way, and I will listen with interest in the future.