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The days of political rhetoric that can lift us up are over in the United States, but today, the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., is a good day to remember one of the finest speeches ever delivered in the colonies.

It was a Gettysburg Address for the 20th century,

 Jerald Podair, professor of history and the Robert S. French Professor of American Studies at Lawrence University, writes today.

It is doubtful that a speech like that -- one that Podair said saved lives --  could have the same effect today, he said.

"The cynicism and distrust that have set root in 21st century culture would make it almost impossible to reproduce the communion he forged with his devastated listeners," he writes.

NewsCut

Bob Collins

Author

The days of political rhetoric that can lift us up are over in the United States, but today, the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., is a good day to remember one of the finest speeches ever delivered in the colonies.


ROBERT F. KENNEDY    CAMPAIGN              1968

The night we heard ‘a Gettysburg Address for the 20th century’

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