On Politics: In Search of Eloquence
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A recent post from Robert Hruzek about the King James version of the Bible got me thinking about eloquence, and how it seems to be disappearing from the public square. Many attribute its decline to the Internet. Conversational style, acronyms, and emoticons rule the Web, and the Web is our dominant communication medium.
Is the Web killing eloquence, or is it something else? And as eloquence makes its slow but steady departure, are we are losing something in the process, something deep and subtle and vital?
Leadership by Example
It could be that George W. Bush is the least eloquent president America has ever seen. By comparison, Bill Clinton was a veritable Cicero, although in reality, he was mainly glib. Ronald Reagan had moments of eloquence -
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.
And we have to go all the way back to John F. Kennedy to find his match -
We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.
Go back further and recall the astounding eloquence of Winston Churchill, the man whose words were so instrumental in saving us from the death grip of Nazi Germany.
We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.
And what about these electrifying words from Franklin Roosevelt?
This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.
Had President Bush spoken words like these after 9-11, we would be living in safer and more unified world today. I am convinced of it.
Our forefathers had the Lincoln-Douglas debates. We have Congressmen and Congresswomen hissing and snarling at each other like a herd of cats. And back in the day, politicians were eloquent even in their snarling.
Lincoln once ridiculed his general staff with this executive order: “Find out what brand of whiskey he’s [Ulysses S. Grant] drinking and send a case to each of my generals.”
Theodore Roosevelt said, “When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer ‘Present’ or ‘Not guilty.’”
Heard anything like that on FOXNews lately?
Making Big Ideas Sound Small and Small Ideas Sound Big
Back to the present, it seems to me President Bush is the opposite of eloquence. I think he is a serious man, a man of honor, good intention, and big ideas. Yet he somehow has a way of making big ideas sound small and petty. It’s no surprise that Barak Obama is an appealing candidate. After eight years of tongue-tied leadership, we thirst for eloquence. And Mr. Obama is often described as eloquent.
But I don’t see it; not yet, anyway. Mr. Obama is not President Bush, but he is not eloquent, either. Instead, by my lights anyway, he is a man who makes small ideas sound big. Tax the rich. Our time is now. Life isn’t fair. Change.
That’s my favorite — “change”. It furiously begs the question, what kind of change? Demanding change in and of itself is meaningless, unless you’ve ordered a Hamburger Happy Meal and paid for it with a $100 bill.
Making Big Ideas Sound Big
No, eloquence is the ability to make big ideas sound big. Eloquence is what fires the imagination and lifts the soul. Some people today laugh at those corny movies from the 1940’s. They say nobody ever talked like that. That’s the beauty of it. The characters spoke the way we would if we could. They took the inexpressible feelings in our hearts and gave them life in words.
So what does it take to be eloquent? It takes the wisdom to recognize a big idea, the audacity to own it, the clarity to convey it, and the passion to write it in our hearts.
Which brings me back to Robert Hruzek and the King James version of the Bible. I seem to remember a passage where a big idea, government, was put in the context of an infinitely larger idea, in a way that shook the world, and all in the span of 17 words.
And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.
And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.
And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly:
Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no?
But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me?
Show me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s.
And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.
And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marveled at his answer, and held their peace. (Luke 20, 19-26)
Our political leaders cannot be expected to reach supernatural heights of eloquence. But oh, how I wish they would try.
Maybe you and I can introduce UK slang to Chicago. Brad...
Well put, Brad! But I think the problem is we’re expecting perfection - from an imperfect system (political systems, that is). Alas, one has only to give a cursory glance at politics the world over to see where that’s headed!
Hmmm… methinks you’ve inspired yet another post… stay tuned!
Hi Robert, Perfection would be nice, but I’d settle for much less. To achieve even that much, we ought to strive for perfection.
Couldn’t agree with you more, Brad. I’m afraid politicians, rather than modeling the highest standards, are now going for the lowest they can possibly get away with. Sigh.
Take the upcoming Prez race (please!) How many people, when you get right down to it, are going to vote for a) the one they dislike the least, b) the Republican or Democrat one because simply because they’re, you know, Democrat or Republican, or c) the black guy “because he’s black”?
What a difference true eloquence would make! Not just words, but eloquent ideas as well! Sure miss those.
Fabulous post. But, was Lincoln ridiculing his staff with that statement? I thought that was in response to Grant doing so well as General, that he wanted the rest of his military leaders to do as well–and that, maybe it was because of the whiskey?
Deb, I think Lincoln was saying Grant could general better dead drunk than the others could stone cold sober.
Brad, I’ll have to say that Barak Obama is highly eloquent and charismatic. I love his style. He’s a great model of what you advocate.
Robyn, charismatic, yes. Eloquent? I’m not convinced. But I hope you are right, because there’s a lot riding on him.
Great post.
You’re kind towards our current WH occupant. Personally, I’d prefer a WH occupant who can speak in complete and grammatically correct sentences, who can make a small idea seem grand than one whose grammar reveals his true nature and turns grand ideas into small, petty, self-serving strategies.
The lack of eloquence crosses all generations, demographics, income levels, partisan politics, network news channels and PDA preferences. So, it can’t be the internet’s fault.
It’s the sign of society’s collective stresses that force us into myopic lives that leave little time for grander visions. And opens the doors for those to exploit this gap in our lives.
Zane, Thank you for visiting Word Sell & commenting. Your point about stress and lack of vision is a very good one. Along with stress is the incredibly fast pace of life these days, even when stress is not in the picture. I suspect you are right that the Internet is more a symptom than a cause.
[…] It Came to Pass annoyed goaded prompted my friend and fellow wordsmith Brad Shorr into responding with his own thoughts on the distressing lack of eloquence we see in politics today. (You’ll have to go read it to […]
Brad, what a beautiful and truthful post. Somewhere along the way we became complacent. We wanted leaders to “meet us on our level” rather than inspiring us to rise to higher levels. We reset the bar a little lower so that everyone could reach it and over time eloquence disintegrated into debauchery.
Thanks Karen. You make a good but somewhat depressing point. How can this state of affairs change, do you think? I’m not sure it can change.
Brad, it is depressing but I do think it can change and I think we all have the opportunity to take part in it. We simply stop accepting the status quo and demand a higher standard. We can shake others out of complacency by alerting them that they don’t have to settle for this standard. James Dobson once said that a family impacts a community, a community impacts a city, a city impacts a state, and a state impacts a nation. I think that one voice does indeed make a difference, and that my friend is hope!
Karen, sometimes things have to get worse before they get better, to shake off the complacency. In that sense the economic hardships we’re grappling with may be exactly what lead us to better days.
Brad, that is my hope. However, we must be careful that we continue to be discerning and are not making choices out of desperation that we will later regret. All change is not good change. Hey, didn’t you write a post on that?
Karen, You should run for president, for real. You’re making a lot of sense. “All change is not good change” is a running theme for me, actually. I’ve touched on it often, as I think you have, too.
LOL! Thanks Brad! I am passionate about social issues and think I can do more good by putting action to my words as a citizen. Have you ever considered running for office?
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