While Simran Sethi had a bit of difficulty making a clear argument for her GO GREEN movement, no one can deny her strengths as a public speaker. She was simply captivating, and extremely well-versed. In between non-sequential bits about her life and times on Oprah, I did catch some interesting and thought-provoking concepts:1. The only way to save the planet is to figure out what each of us (as individuals) can do – there is no one way.
2. The environment is everything: everything that we care about exists within this ecosystem; if it is compromised, our loved ones/things are as well
3. Environmental rights are civil rights – we all deserve access to clean air and healthy food
4. The lofty goal of saving the planet is not going to happen in “10 easy steps” – it takes all of our work
5. And lastly, why should I care? What difference does this make for me? What difference does this have on my future?
Ms. Sethi claimed that the worst possible route to getting people to care about the environment is through guilt. However, she managed to make everyone in Bovard think a bit about their friendliness towards the environment, or lack thereof. Despite the guilt trip, Simran's "lecture" was more about what she's done in her life as opposed to what we need to do to help save the planet. I am highly doubtful that her presentation persuaded anyone to start an organization dedicated to Going Green, let alone buy compact fluorescent light bulbs. Even so, it was entertaining and I give Simran Sethi an A for effort.
Here is a link for a youtube channel featuring more information about Simran and her movement: The Green Editorial
You seem to be swaying back and forth between praising the quality of her performance and critisizing the weakness of it. You say that she was able to captivate teh audiance with thought provoking concepts, yet you say you doubtful her lecture persuaded anyone. I am conufsed as to what exactly your reaction was. It seems as if you are making the assertion that it impacted you in a greater way than you though it had impacted others. Am I correct in this assumption? Also, I should note that I like how you numbered out what you thought to be the five most important parts of the lecture. I really think this helped bring structure to your post.
ReplyDeleteUSC Writer,
ReplyDeleteI never praised the QUALITY of her performance. Upon careful reading I think you may find that I praised how eloquent Ms. Sethi is as a public speaker rather than the content of her speech. I did not say she captivated the audience with thought provoking concepts, but rather that I picked up on some interesting concepts (that she introduced for about a second before moving on) amidst all the fluff of her speech. No, it did not impact me in any way, but like I said: "it was entertaining." Thanks!