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The John Batchelor Show

S8 Ep761: Professor Luke Foster laments the decline of persuasive speech in the United States Congress, contrasting modern partisan anger with the powerful 18th-century parliamentary debates that shaped governance through high-level education and genuine legislat

The John Batchelor Show

John Batchelor

Arts, News, Society & Culture, Books

4.52.8K Ratings

🗓️ 18 April 2026

⏱️ 6 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Professor Luke Foster laments the decline of persuasive speech in the United States Congress, contrasting modern partisan anger with the powerful 18th-century parliamentary debates that shaped governance through high-level education and genuine legislative policy authority. (8)
1947 DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT, LONG BEACH

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:29.9

Today. I'm John Bachelor with Professor Foster, Luke Foster, he's an associate professor of the School of Government in Hillstdale College, writing a review of a new book

0:55.6

that sounds wonderful because it's about the power of the voice, something I've done with for some time

1:04.6

now, on the floor of parliament in tension over issues such as the East India Company and larceny or the American Revolution

1:15.6

and the French entering in on the American side and what is to be done, dealing with Pitt the

1:21.0

Younger, all of that romantic fare, but it comes down to the power of the Parliament on the floor floor of the parliament, to persuade not only the men in the room,

1:33.0

but also the public that will be reading this within 24 hours.

1:37.4

And Luke, reviewing your piece and your praise of James Grant's book,

1:42.5

Friends to the end,

1:44.3

made me very regretful that we live with a system that derive from these men

1:49.8

and their passion, but is small beer.

1:54.5

That's the best metaphor I can, most flattering metaphor I can find,

1:59.1

for what Congress has become,

2:03.2

which is a session that strikes me with nothing but rhetoric and anger. How did we come to this? Have you reflected on that as

2:11.0

a professor of school of government? Thank you. It's a very good question. I have. I'm not sure I have simple or easy answers. Because as you say, one of the things that's very moving about this book and the speeches quoted extensively therein is there was prestige associated with and power associated with being able to speak beautifully. And our government is certainly powerful, right?

2:35.8

Part of what I think remains very noble and wonderful about America in this 215th year is that we are a self-governed republic.

2:44.3

Unlike even our European trends and allies, we have to take decisions of great consequence because there's nobody to fund our defense or to subsidize our budget if we don't do it ourselves.

3:00.6

So that makes American citizenship matter.

...

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