Steam Powered Frisbee 🥏tl;dr every American voter should at least read the State of the Union address whether you like the person delivering it or not.
Back during the W Bush administration I started reading the official released versions of #SOTU instead of watching, because it's faster and less aggravating. I never went back to watching – even when the prez was somebody who said decent things.
Most paragraphs, regardless of who is speaking, are something like:
1. "We need to increase/decrease X." Even if X is vague or impossible to achieve, these sentences at least communicate information about the president's priorities or worldview.
2. Occasionally there is one more sentence that expands on or clarifies claim 1.
3. "Just like Jen Barker of Cooperville, Missouri, who ..."
The rest of the paragraph can safely be skipped.
It's tempting to ignore the whole thing, i.e. not even read the speech. But even if it feels like a waste of time, we should think about how public officials so rarely even attempt to communicate at length with the public anymore. EVERYTHING is disconnected bits filtered through social media and our respective bubbles. The result is that we only hear the most outrageous snippets (emphasis on "rage") or funny moments. From that genuinely pointless process, we fallaciously conclude the speech itself is pointless.
Reading the SOTU in full, regardless of who is president, takes less than a half hour per year. It's not much to ask of a citizen. The speech is a constitutional requirement and even the current guy at least has a script. This isn't entertainment or sports.
(I would add that reading debate transcripts in election years is also worthwhile, even if you know who you're gonna vote for. Actual live speech is a million times more valuable than any campaign ad, and it can be a healthy reality check.)
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