A Tale of Two Speeches

In an unprecedented move, I called Roger to see if he'd meet me at the mall after work to see the newly Oscar-nominated film The King's Speech. We actually only get to movies in the theater a few times a year. Not because we don't want to. Mostly because we're not very organized about it. In this case I have friends who keep posting positive things about this movie, so I wanted to make a point of seeing it myself before the Academy Awards.

The King's Speech tells the story of King George VI, or Bertie, who had a stuttering problem that paralyzed him with fear, and his speech therapist, Lionel, who used some unconventional and risky tactics to help the king overcome his challenge. At the end of the movie, the king successfully delivers a critical radio speech to his nation upon entering war with Germany.

I was thinking about both Bertie and Lionel's tenacity when I walked out to the parking lot. I started up the car and the radio was tuned to a station broadcasting the State of the Union address, which had already begun.

As I drove home, President Obama was talking about how our country was founded on the idea that each of us should have "the chance to shape our own destiny" and that "the future is ours to win." He went on to quote Robert Kennedy who said, "The future is not a gift. It is an achievement."

I don't know what would have happened if Bertie had not worked to overcome his fears and Lionel hadn't gone out on a limb to help him. But they did.

And we can, too.