Two sentences in an artical in Financial times
"Likewise, our own democracies, imperfect though they may be, are the culmination of the culture of the written word. Mr Apkon notes how Kennedy, in those 1960 debates, “tapped into a lever in the psyche more primal than mere facts”."

What has Kennedy got to do with the previous sentence about democracy. I mean Kennedy's words touched our soul, which is stated in the latter sentence, so what has it got to do with imperfect democracy? The underlying connection between these two sentences is really driving me crazy? Really can't figure this out.

Thank you so much for helping me figure this out...

Question

Two sentences in an artical in Financial times
"Likewise, our own democracies, imperfect though they may be, are the culmination of the culture of the written word. Mr Apkon notes how Kennedy, in those 1960 debates, “tapped into a lever in the psyche more primal than mere facts”."

What has Kennedy got to do with the previous sentence about democracy. I mean Kennedy's words touched our soul, which is stated in the latter sentence, so what has it got to do with imperfect democracy? The underlying connection between these two sentences is really driving me crazy? Really can't figure this out.

Thank you so much for helping me figure this out...

Answer

I'm not sure I can adequately address your question, but think about what happened in those 1960 debates. It was the first time that presidential debates were received by a wide television audience in the United States. In the first debate, those who watched it on television thought Kennedy had the upper hand, but people who listened on radio thought Nixon made his points better. Kennedy proved that how you say something is more important than what you say. Perhaps the writer is trying to say that television opened a new world.

Answer

Here's my take on this:

1 Democracy is the culmination.
2 Kennedy wasn't just arguing for democracy with facts, but he argued for it based on something more primal than facts
3 "Democracy is the culmination" isn't because it's perfect but because it's something more primal than facts.

Does it make a bit more sense?

Answers · 3

Still haven’t found your answers?

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!