Three Year 10 students, Josh Callaway, James Clay and Neha Seegum, entered the Bristol Final of The English Speaking Union Public Speaking Competition on Tuesday the 15th of January which was held at Badminton School. After their intelligent and impressive team performance, they were awarded the runners up prize.
Josh's speech:
We have a moral duty to intervene in countries where governments are oppressing the people
Ladies and gentlemen, political tension is becoming a more ever-present part of our daily lives, and today, I am going to show that this is usually the product of intervention, be that military, economic or so on. The global ideal of democracy, a world of free-will and the ability to live with other countries in harmony, is fast-becoming unobtainable. This is not because of the events that are taking place, but the nature of the way that the worldwide community reacts to them. A country with problems is better isolated; interacting with it merely invites a dangerous chasm a conflict and social unrest to open, with not only devastating but familiar results.
I am not saying intervention of any kind should be prohibited, I am merely suggesting if deemed the only necessary way forward, it should be continuously monitored. I understand that the majority of the population feel that it may be inhumane to stand back and allow atrocities to occur, however, by stepping in, regardless of the intention; we are potentially bridging a gap into a situation that the few would want to partake in. Morality, I feel, is not helped by the fact that modern-day governments feel somewhat compelled to act towards countries at every possible turn. The world we live in today is a frightening one, and we cannot hope to improve it by attempting to alter things that are beyond our reach.
I would like to turn your attention to the events that took place nearly a century ago. It is 1914; and unrest in Europe is at a historical high, Kaiser Wilhelm II is struggling to quell his imperialistic desires for a greater German empire and Britain is constructing its Dreadnoughts to take on the world. However it is not these events that triggered the greatest war in history, it was the global scrutiny and intervention around the Slavic states, states that were being oppressed by the Austria-Hungarian government. Looking back with hindsight, we can now see that by attempting to alter and fabricate the politics of other countries, we are conjuring up something that may easily destroy our world.
My next example highlights that intervention is not only destructive and inefficient in its nature, but often fails to resolve the initial issues. In December 1979, the U.S.S.R began its invasion of Afghanistan. The intervention ended 9 years later, with 28,000 casualties on both sides, as well as up to 2,000,000 Afghan civilians dead, one can hardly call this a humane and moral victory. Yet, as if unaffected by these twisted events, we have returned to Afghanistan, the current ‘War on Terror’ as it is known is not the humanly correct thing to be doing, little progress is being made in paving the way to a democratic society in the Middle East. And I am concerned that; when we withdraw, the area will revert to its original state. Intervention rarely succeeds, and tells us a lot about the western willingness to send more to fight for a cause that is likely never to alter.
My final example refers to events that occurred throughout mid-1994, when nearly 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis were brutally killed by the ethnic majority. Many felt compelled to act against the atrocities that were occurring. Governments from all over the world met and decided that to intervene was not only a moral necessity, but was the only way to resolve the situation, however they were wrong. The UN entered the country, hoping to end the hostilities that were going on there, however, when they did come across situations that required them to act, the UN rules of engagement dictated that they could not react. To me, it is not morally correct to allow these things to happen, but if we want to respond through intervention, there need to be reform.
It was not the UN intervention, or the worldwide scrutiny that brought about the end to the Rwandan Genocide, but talks that took place internally. There can only be change in places where oppression in high if we allow the people there to negotiate and find a way that benefits all who live there, after all; it is their country, and their politics. We cannot hope to build a better future for the world if we a determined to alter nations that do not require our help. It is better to leave a struggling country when we have problems of our own.
So, in conclusion, think whether intervention is really the best way forward when the world sees events like these. Helping others does not always require action. By tilting the scales of global politics, we are less likely to bring them back to the desired ideological equilibrium.
Lauren Hurrell's Gabblers' Speech
Mister Chairman; Honoured Guests; fellow Gabblers; Ladies and Gentlemen. Fairy Tales.
‘Once Upon A Time’ are four simple words strung together to create the beginning of magical stories that we, of all backgrounds and generations, have heard time and time again. They trigger our imaginations as we retreat to a dream-like world that once surrounded our childhoods.
So what makes a fairy tale? Well, by definition, it is a story typically featuring fantasy characters such as fairies, elves, mermaids and usually magic or enchantments – not the sort of things we come across in everyday life, one would hope! - Although it is this distance from reality that makes the stories magical to us.
With our favourite characters and stories in mind, it’s inevitable that we form a link with Disney; “where dreams come true”. The Walt Disney Company is best known for the products of its film studio and is today one of the largest studios in Hollywood. The numbers alone prove the tremendous influence that Disney has had in the film industry. Take the much loved classic and a personal favourite of mine, The Lion King; with earnings of over $951 million US dollars worldwide as of 2011, it’s the highest grossing hand-drawn film in history.
But first, let’s take a hop, skip and a jump back to the year 1937, when Walt Disney presented his first full length feature production: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The story of a princess who escapes her wicked step mother’s imprisonment and befriends seven short bearded men is hardly a common occurrence in our lives, but similarities in our modern society aren’t worlds apart! I’m sure some people can relate to the idea of a ‘wicked step mother’, what with the concepts of the modern family and the recent growth in divorce rates.
This is where the cracks begin to show, for we are influenced by perfect scenarios of finding our own happy endings, until we are thrown curveballs in life that force us to change direction or put us in danger of finding a happy never after.
Another danger with fairy tales is that they are too easily blamed for our disappointments as a result of great expectations. It’s hard to draw parallels between fairy tales and reality because, unlike a story or a film, our lives cannot be edited; we endure every moment as it comes. There is no pause button for us to hit when we feel like life is rushing by, no rewind button for us to revisit our fondest memories and there is no fast-forward option for us to skip the rough patches. Time just keeps chugging along!
There’s the common misconception that we can always achieve what is achievable in a story or a film, but how many success stories are there really? Many people compare the lifestyle of a celebrity to that of a fairy tale existence, claiming they don’t live in the real world like us, but living under a constant spotlight where every move I make or word I speak is thrown into a judgmental debate of my morals sounds like a night mare, in my opinion.
However, there’s a valuable lesson we can take from fairy tales; the importance of morals. In each story, we see the way in which the good always prosper as the evil suffer the consequences of their actions. This message relates to all aspects of life. You could argue that fairy tales are what our life ambitions stem from; in some ways we’re all trying to find our own happy ever afters, whether we’re searching for ‘true love’ or pursuing a desired career path. There’s an adventure for us all to lead, like the heroes and heroines in our favourite stories. So what happy ending will you choose?
Mister Chairman; honoured guests; fellow Gabblers; Ladies and Gentlemen; with hopes to find our truest happy ever afters, please stand and join me in a toast to Fairy Tales.
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Year 8s recently enjoyed a creative writing session with children's author Barbara Spencer more ... |
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At the end of February Jon Roper took part in Gabblers, a public speaking competition, and he performed this speech. He takes part in the Grand Final in April.
Mr Chairman, honoured guests, fellow Gabblers, ladies and gentlemen, top dog.
My black Labrador, Basil, the big bruiser in the gym wearing a vest and flexing his “guns,” a dominant boss or leader, what do they have in common? The letter “B” perhaps? No, these top dogs that often frequent my life always have the better of me, but there are some even more prominent figures!
The first, sibling rivalry between my brother and I. Picture this, my mum’s bright gold rover parked in the driveway, angelic in its appearance, persistent in its performance, for now at least! The battle commences; a frantic scramble for that prized front seat. The extra four inches of legroom, designated car DJ, control of the heating and most importantly to avoid the screaming little sister who forces you to “budge up!” It has it all. However I was, and sometimes still am consistently denied this privilege, forced to cram all six foot one of me into the back. All I have to accompany me is the delectable interior of the Rover 25 all because I am the youngest and I have to submit to this hierarchy!
Having an older brother though has its benefits in life: a constant supply of clothes that I can ‘grow into,’ and help with that tricky maths homework, all things I can appreciate and use to my benefit, but for those car journeys into school, I suffered as the under dog!
However, traditionally, the first born child would be the “top dog” in the family, but in my life this balance of power has changed and in most cases siblings are treated equally in my experience. On the other hand, take the famous One Child Policy in China, implemented during the 1970s to stop the population boom that was occurring. This is an extreme example and created a culture of “little emperors” who, as the only child in the family, would be lavished and nurtured excessively, as having two parents and four grandparents to all focus on one grandchild puts a lot of attention on them.
Literally though, becoming top dog entails being dominant or victorious, but to me that begs the question of whether that is the right attitude to have in life. To paraphrase Roald Dahl’s Matilda, Miss Trunchbull says: ‘I'm smart, you're dumb; I'm big, you're little; I'm right, you're wrong, and there's nothing you can do about it.’ This reflects how a lot of elitist authority figures or “top dogs” treat less fortunate people all over the world. Is that what we want to aspire to be?
There are exceptions, the most obvious being Nelson Mandela. Last July, I visited his cell on Robben Island where he spent 18 years. Influenced by Ghandi, he peacefully protested against the apartheid regime in South Africa. He turned himself from nobody, a chiwawa tied to a lamppost, to one of the most inspirational and influential politicians, a top dog at Crufts! He proved that, by standing up to a top dog and doing what is morally right, change in a nation can be achieved. These are the people to respect and aim to emulate!
Unfortunately it seems that our generation has decided to look up to juvenile celebrities to be their ‘top dog’ though, blokes with fake tan from Essex and footballers who aren’t man enough to shake each others hands, it can only get worse! So the next time you’re watching reality TV or experience supposed superiority in the world, remember these words, written by an anonymous source: I know that the world, that the great big world, will never a moment stop, to see which dog may be in the fault, but will shout for the dog on top.
Mr Chairman, honoured guest, fellow gabblers, ladies and gentlemen, please stand and join me in a toast to Top Dog.
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