Opening a speech: Step-by-step
The Queen’s unheard nuclear war speech
Here’s something a little different – the most famous speech that was never delivered. Below is the script for an alternative speech to the one given by Nixon during the first Moon landing in 1969. This would have been the speech we all would have heard had the Moon landing gone awry.
The speech itself, is inspirational, chilling and has a focus on the journey of man. It looks to bind its audience together by uniting them as the human race; a race that has today experienced a loss, but a loss for the greater good.
Overall, it’s quite a thought provoking piece – how many other speeches have been prepared throughout history and have gone unheard – a shame!
The following speech was prepared by Nixon’s speechwriter, William Safire, to be used in the event of a disaster that would maroon Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon:
Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.
These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.
These two men are laying down their lives in mankind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.
They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.
In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.
In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.
Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.
For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.
