I figure in today's Twitter world this kind of language is needed to cut through the BS. But having spend 2 decades reading Civil War primary sources like letters and speeches and such it does jar me a little how far we have fallen as a nation in terms of oratory skills. The last great example was JFK. I don't think I can recall any memorable sentences said after that by a president.
Reagan counts but they were more workaday uses of language like "Tear down this wall". Reagan, as a media expert knew that he had to keep it simple and elegant. I am going off on a tangent - I tend to do that - I apologize.
But having spend 2 decades reading Civil War primary sources like letters and speeches and such it does jar me a little how far we have fallen as a nation in terms of oratory skills.
It is interesting to read letters from common CW soldiers of 150 years ago. Their writing skill level was beyond the norm of today. Perhaps it’s a function of the technology. When one hand-writes a letter with a quill pen it takes time. You have time to organize your thoughts as you write. Today one blasts a Tweet out to the world in 140 characters in a matter of seconds. It is a totally different animal substituting brevity for speed.