But related to this court thought, we have one on all speeches: we hate speeches. Now, true, there may be inspiring speeches, or powerful and rallying ones. But have you stopped to think what the very phenomenon of speeches – or, as we more correctly and with more judgment say in this country, – really is? It is the use of mere words to bring about a change in the listener’s mental make-up without their meanings actually bound to be true. The speech’s only job is to change the listener’s disposition for better or worse. That’s like a drug the efficacy of which depends not on whether what’s being said ‘treats’ or not, but on effectively the person is administering it. So, in the ‘wrong hands’, speeches can remain attractive. Our suggestion is, no, not to ban speeches – which, let’s face it, is too authoritarian – but to have one day a year when no one gets to make speeches. It could be called Hate Speech Day. Or maybe that’s a bit misleading. No Speech Day, then?
