The appeal to history/narrative in favor of social change is an interesting rhetorical tactic - I think Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech is one of the clearest examples of it in practice - explicitly contrasting the promises of the past, the realities of his present, and his hopes for the future.
"And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream."
It seems like the goal is to convince people who are undecided that they actually already agree with you, that the reforms being demanded are not some new imposition but simply the realisation of the ideals they already hold. A gentle highlighting of hypocrisy, which I feel is more persuasive than simply condemning the whole of history.
Maybe I'm biased, I suspect the speech will resonate more with a Christian audience, but I think it's an great example of something that's both moral and beautiful.
The appeal to history/narrative in favor of social change is an interesting rhetorical tactic - I think Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech is one of the clearest examples of it in practice - explicitly contrasting the promises of the past, the realities of his present, and his hopes for the future.
"And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream."
https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
It seems like the goal is to convince people who are undecided that they actually already agree with you, that the reforms being demanded are not some new imposition but simply the realisation of the ideals they already hold. A gentle highlighting of hypocrisy, which I feel is more persuasive than simply condemning the whole of history.
Maybe I'm biased, I suspect the speech will resonate more with a Christian audience, but I think it's an great example of something that's both moral and beautiful.