Ralph Nader came to the university tonight as a guest speaker on the environment and corporate greed, and I decided to attend the lecture with a couple of friends. The speech drew interest for me because, a year ago, I chose one of Nader's platforms in an exercise in public speaking class.
To be honest, I was more interested in evaluating Nader's speech ability. Thus, I spent most of the speech judging his ethos, pathos, and logos, and eyeing the cute blond girl in front of me
Overall, I thought the speech was mediocre and pumped with metaphors targeted towards youngsters (Interesting to note that Nader referred to the Republican Party as the "Genghis Khan Party"!). But Nader did raise his energy in the end, when questions were raised about his relationship with the Democratic party and his run for the white house.
Nevertheless, I have a soft spot for tireless idealists who raise a voice against corporate America.
And he did sign my book and answered my question about the trading for pollution rights.
I would love to hear your thoughts about Ralph Nader's role in American politics and your take on his brand of consumer activism.
Edited by poirot