ST SEBASTIAN’S

seemed fated for the paper to be delivered there. The ACL
Conference in Los Angeles was an opportunity to revisit some of the
ideas I had examined in the earlier version of the paper. I am
grateful to the School for the
opportunities to research and
write this paper, and for the
ability to travel with my wife and
daughter to California.
I delivered my paper on the
Saturday of the nearly week-long
ACL conference. Following the
set of speakers who presented
that morning, conference
attendees and their families
boarded a bus for the nearby Getty Villa. The Getty is a museum
which houses Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities. The Villa is a
re-creation of a villa in Herculaneum, with Greek and Roman
sculptures, architecture, and gardens. I recognized the relevance of
my paper when fellow attendees approached me at the Villa to
discuss JFK’s speeches and ancient rhetoric.
While my family and I were in the Los Angeles area, we decided
to visit an ornate Melkite church in North Hollywood for Mass on
Sunday, and then spent the afternoon at the Reagan Library in Simi
Valley, an hour north of Los Angeles. We were impressed by the
Hall of Presidents, re-creation of the Berlin Wall, and artifacts from
Reagan’s film days, political campaigns, and presidency, particularly
the desk from the Oval Office. Also at the Reagan Library was the
former Air Force One plane used by Presidents Nixon, Carter, Ford,
Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush from
1973 to 2001. Outside the Library, with a clear view of the beautiful
mountains, is the burial site for the 40th United States President,
with the words “I know in my heart that man is good, that what is
right will always eventually triumph and there is purpose and worth
to each and every life," inscribed in granite.
These visits to the Getty Villa and the Reagan Library brought
together for me the ancient world and the more recent American
experience. Whether Pericles, Cicero, JFK, or Reagan, politicians
use rhetoric to promote certain ideals. Recent United States leaders
have pointed back to Athens or Rome as examples of past greatness,
as well as past tragedies.
I conclude the paper with these words: "In providing them with
speeches such as those I have placed before you, our students can
explore the importance of rhetoric in the ancient past and in their
own times. They also are able, most importantly, to reflect on the
concepts of liberty and encourage, as evinced in Profiles in Courage
and in several of Kennedy’s speeches."
I have been interested since my undergrad days at The College of
the Holy Cross in how the past, the ancient world, can be
communicated in the present. Present day students perceive ancient
history as far removed from their own world, so it is important to
relate the past with their present, and even their future. Using
existing and future technologies to communicate the past is
valuable, as otherwise the values and ideals that are part of the
Present day students perceive ancient
history as far removed from their
own world, so it is important to
relate the past with their present, and
even their future.
human experience are seen as temporary, not eternal. In reading
and thinking about the 2009 Inaugural Address of President Obama,
the 1961 “City Upon a Hill” speech by Kennedy, the 1863
Gettysburg Address by Lincoln,
and the 430 BC “Funeral
Oration” delivered by Pericles
during the Peloponnesian War,
we can see how our courage
amidst adversity, and the values
we hold dear, make us who we
are. And, this is not some fleeting
notion, but one that past and
future peoples have
communicated for millennia. I
continue to consider methods for conveying this message to a wider
audience, including publication in a journal. The trip to California
with my family was a truly memorable experience. The School is a
remarkable place for providing and encouraging the faculty with
opportunities to develop and present our academic philosophies and
approaches to teaching. ■
Olivia Deschenes contemplating her future.
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