Politics, Leadership, Polls And Language

              

 

According to Merriam-Webster, “cliché” originated from the French word “clicher” (its past participle) meaning “stereotype,” and we know it as a word indicating some overused expression.ⁱ The term is expansive and may relate to a proverb or other “truism” as well as to a short phrase or description. Clichés are reliable. They're “tried and true.” People use them all the time. After all, “it's better to be safe than sorry.”

But more than that, clichés (and I'm most interested in the expressions and proverbs) are so obviously true that they sum up all that we need to know about something. They're the received wisdom – “words to the wise.” They encapsulate someone's thoughts. They're argument-enders. It's difficult to respond to some banal statement, whether true or false, when you know that the one who said it is smug and impressed with his own brilliance, and has no interest in a rebuttal. He'll simply smirk and turn away.

That's not to say that all proverbs deserve disposal. Their history and popularity attest to the fact that they “strike a chord” in speakers and listeners, and at one time they were fresh and original. Now, though, they seem more useful as substitutes for thought. They're comfortable and familiar. And, to a significant degree, they're political. Perhaps not intentionally so, but that's the way many may be understood. When someone advises you to “look before you leap,”ⁱⁱ to “think it through” and remember that “what can go wrong will go wrong,”ⁱⁱⁱ so you must be cautions in order to avoid “unintended consequences,” and “never [to] burn your bridges before you cross them,”^iv he is expressing a very conservative position, and many proverbs are little more than cautionary tales reduced to a few words. And they're likely to be wrong.

But those of a more liberal bent have their own bromides. They're quick to remind anyone who will listen that “the early bird gets the worm”^v and “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”^vi And if they perceive a problem they can't “just stand there,”^vii they have to “do something.” And quickly. “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” and “a stitch in time saves nine.”^viii And their quick thinking and bias toward rapid action often leads them to “think outside the box” and to “push the envelope.” But they're wrong, too.

Still, there are “cooler heads.” Following Aristotle, they favor a middle path – compromise. After all, “there are two sides to every story.” What they never consider is that at least one of those sides is wrong. Whatever their private thoughts, they never concede that a compromise between right and wrong is wrong, and “the lesser of two evils” is evil.^ix And such an attitude gives credence and a platform to that “lesser,” as well as to the two evils between which it is a compromise. As I'm sure you've guessed, “half a loaf is [not always] better than none,” and because of their lack of sincerity, the compromisers are even more wrong than the “extremists” who actually believe the clichés they repeat.

But their words sound fair. And in modern-day politics, that's what counts. It's better to sound moderate – to be willing to compromise. And since the voters aren't always sophisticated, for many of them a middle ground seems like the best solution, one between the “extremes” rather than on one side.

And that's “where the money is.” Those are the voters who will decide most of the elections. “Dyed-in-the-wool” conservatives and liberals will vote for their own candidates irrespective of issues and positions, leaving the real decisions to those in “the middle of the road” in “swing states.” So our leaders conduct extensive polls to find out what those “independent” voters want and move toward those positions. It's much easier to lead when you know what the followers want. People are not interested in what is right but in what sounds right. So our representatives find out what sounds right to the voters and then courageously proclaim that position. A politician who actually says and defends what he believes is sure to be punished for it.^x (He who lives by the word, dies by it.) The one who repeats the truisms on which we have all been raised will fare much better. He^xi will be received by the voters with a much higher degree of comfort, irrespective of true beliefs or ability.

So the best thing a politician can do is to soothe the voters with words of comfort and wisdom – “the wisdom of the ages.” Clichés may be wrong or, at best, insipid, but we respond to them.  As William Claude Dukenfield said, “Never give a sucker an even break.” That's a turn of phrase dear to every “leader's” heart.

Next episode: “Remembrance Of Things Yet To Come” -- Death and the mad man.

 

i     We also use it to refer to anything else that is hackneyed and almost meaningless, like clothing styles, an idea, someone's reaction or life, etc.

ii    Perhaps we should sometimes be cautioned not to leap.

iii    Some believe that Murphy was an optimist.

iv    Of course some of those bridges shouldn't be crossed in the first place.

v    Chestnut: “Early to bed and early to rise, and your girl goes out with other guys.” But chestnuts are tastier than worms.

vi    Nor lost. Actually something may be lost. Especially if you expect prices to go down and you sell everything only to see them rise.

vii    We'd often be better off if our politicians did nothing and just stood there.

viii   If it's the right stitch. Otherwise it may require adding future stitches rather than saving some.

ix    Compromise is too often viewed as the first step in getting your way. It is the starting point for the next debate – one you expect to carry you further toward your goal. But, of course, that's exactly what your opponent thinks.

x     In 1964, Barry Goldwater, Republican candidate for the presidency, proclaimed “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” With a war going on in Viet Nam, and many voters doubting their country's position, such a statement was viewed with suspicion, as the view of a dangerous superpatriot. Senator Goldwater only received 52 electoral votes to President Johnson's 486.

xi    Or she.

Baby Face

According to Art Linkletter,ⁱ “Kids say the darndest things.” I guess they don't know any better. They say whatever comes into their heads, and they're unguarded – they don't filter it.

Not so, adults. They're more “sensitive.” More guarded. And far more conventional. They've been taught what to say in various circumstances and, for the most part, will say the “right” thing even if it isn't true and they don't believe it. For example, it's become fashionable, whenever an inquiry is made about almost anything personal,ⁱⁱ (such as “How have you been” or “How is _____,” although you know the questioner doesn't really care what your response is, and you'd prefer not to talk about the subject anyway) to reply, “Thank you for asking.” Of course you don't mean it, but it's the right thing to say. Then you make up an answer – usually as short as possible – so you can move on to other subjects which also interests neither of you. (Conversation like this is typical of what you're likely to hear at a cocktail party – small talk that is banal until after you've had a few drinks. Then, of course, it is brilliant.)

The observance of such conventions is commonplace, and completely without meaning. After all, what can we possibly have in mind when we write “Dear” ______ to someone we don't know, or “Sincerely” or “Love” after almost anything we've put in a letter to a stranger? And should we assume that someone who doesn't write “Sincerely” is insincere?

There are times when the comment is clearly insincere. “Call me sometime. We'll have lunch.” The significance of a remark like that might be ambiguous if the party speaking were to disclose his telephone number, but too often he's careful not to do so. However that's all right since you can't remember his name. So when he asks you to extend regards to the family you won't be able to do so, though you'll certainly agree to do so. Not that it matters to him. He's already forgotten both the request and you, if he ever really took note of you in the first place. And if the request was more than a formula for disengaging from the meeting.

There are times when we don't know the origin of what we are saying, for, if we did, we'd say something else. “Goodbye,” with which, as a matter of course, we end all conversations, is a contraction of "God be wyⁱⁱⁱ you." I suspect that many an angry telephone call, which ends with one party slamming down the receiver, would be terminated with a different valediction if that origin were considered.

Nonetheless, we seem to be stuck with a group of things we always say. I realized this when someone commented on the appearance of a new grandchild of mine. “Oh, what a beautiful baby.” It was a comment I had heard innumerable times.^iv I'm not so discerning. All babies^v look the same to me. They all look like Winston Churchill. (All of them look kind of nondescript except for newborns, who are all ugly.) But I'd never say that to a proud new father showing off the video he took in the delivery room. Nor to the mother who is just recovering from the ordeal. But mine is not a unique perspective. Indeed, Churchill himself said “All babies look like me. But then, I look like all babies.” What you hear from all the friends and relatives, though, is that this one is unique - and uniquely beautiful. Have you ever heard anyone tell the truth to a parent? “That's as ugly a baby as I've ever seen.” Truth is not the issue. Stroking is. So we all say what the parents want to hear. We may see them at another time and want that meeting to be as pleasant as possible.

I don't mean to suggest that all children are nondescript or ugly, though this may be the case just after they're hatched. Johnny Mercer hypothesized that a pretty girl “must have been a beautiful baby”^vi but I doubt that such was the case. Later in the song he wrote “when you were only startin' to go to kindergarten,^vii I bet you drove the little boys wild.” That makes more sense. At birth they're all the same but once a baby starts to develop a personality, individuality and beauty are more likely to be apparent. Not that someone would insult a child who has grown up ugly. He won't. Silence or a compliment would be the response no matter what if a comment on such a child's appearance were solicited – either outright or by implication – because an insult is not an appropriate description from an adult. A child might not hesitate to tell the truth, but adults don't do that.

An example of this phenomenon occurs immediately after the stroker has seen the baby or a picture of him. “What's his name?” To which you dutifully reply, and then you hear: “What an ugly name. That's a joke, isn't it? How can the parents saddle a poor baby with such a horrible name?”

No. That's not what you said. Only a child would say what he really believes. An adult would pronounce the name – however silly it might be – “beautiful.” I've always wondered about that, even more than I've wondered why people ask the name when they don't care, and probably won't remember it anyway. And of course they ask about the weight, with some kind of inane comment following.

So we're left with the problem. Should we tell the truth or not? The simple solution is to keep a kid handy at all times. He'll do the dirty work for you.

Next episode: “Hate Speech” – Don't you just love it?

i      Try Google^TM or another search engine if you've never heard of him.

ii     Though it's usually about something the questioner knows is distressing.

iii    No. That's not a misprint. It must be the way they talked at the time in Shakespeare's neighborhood. That's what he wrote in “As You Like It.” There were many variations of the sentiment which derives from “God be with you,” and Shakespeare's was only one of them.

iv    Actually, I'm sure it's numerable. I just don't know the number.

v     Well, almost all babies.

vi   “You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby” was published by Harry Warren (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) in 1938 and first appeared in “Hard To Get.”

vii    The lyric suggests that kindergarten was likely to be the baby's introduction to social interactions. That was then. Now with play groups, nursery school, day care, and pre-K (all carefully chosen with the goal of preparing the baby for an Ivy League school), kindergarten is the last of a series of social experiences prior to elementary-level education, and will probably be capped (and gowned) by a commencement ceremony. Then they can start getting some kind of education.

Sliced Bread

 

“It's the greatest thing since sliced bread!”

That's what some of the enthusiasts said about a singing group that was to be the attraction at a fund-raiser they were planning. I'm sure it was intended as a compliment.^i,ii I'm equally sure that those using the expression were unfamiliar with freshly-baked, warm, crisp, uncut bread of the kind that doesn't come in packages and that lacks the additives now used to increase shelf-life.

Statements like that – substitutions of trite aphorisms and words for more original thoughts – are too commonly heard, especially in the Twitter generation.

And that's the way it is with many expressions currently in use. People, thinking themselves clever, mouth clichés which may have no particular concrete associations for them, but which they learned long ago and have used without thought ever since. In the urban society in which most Americans live, most of us have never seen a haystack, but we know with certainty how hard it would be to find a needle hidden in one. And we're always able to spot someone wet behind the ears even if we've never seen a newborn farm animal. And many of those who do a Houdini don't understand where the term arose. And they're surely even less certain about the situation of someone with the Midas touch who is as rich as Croesus.ⁱⁱⁱ They probably wish they were he. But should they? Ancient history and mythology are low priorities in our twenty-first century education, so these expressions will likely die out soon.

But some persist, and they color and, to a degree, confuse our thoughts. No Brit would want to be sent to Coventry, but an American would view it as a trip to see a world famous cathedral. And we wait for the day when, in respect to our enemies, the shoe will be on the other foot, not realizing that this would mean an improvement for them.

Some aphorisms, however, go further and may be used to control us. The worst of these^iv is the caution against reinventing the wheel. The idea is one that, in addition to being a denigration of original thinkers, inhibits unconventional thought. The implication is that the use of a previously perfected method will save time and effort – that someone has already spent the time working out the problem and you can save yourself the effort if you follow his way.

Of course inherent in such an idea is the assumption that you want a wheel – that it is best suited to solve the problem you are facing, whatever it is. But that isn't always the case, so by preventing you from thinking about new approaches to the problem, the speaker ensures a lack of progress. It's all well-intentioned, but it may be ill-considered.

There's a lot to be said for^v clichés. But their use tends to limit rather than to extend our ideas on particular subjects. When we use expressions uncritically, we may sound as if we understand what we are saying, even as their use allows us to speak without thinking. A hackneyed phrase,^vi if it new to the listener, may seem fresh and clever as he extends its life another generation. But more often, it sounds trite, even if it is understood by the audience. Consequently it doesn't impress those who hear it. The speaker doesn't sound clever. Rather, the words are likely to be recognized as an expression of laziness and rhetorical poverty. It's better to experiment with new ways of saying something rather than to rely on the wheel alone.

Oh. And as for the singing group, I prefer fresh, crisp, unsliced bread.^vii

Next episode: “Reign, Reign, Go Away” – Fa, la, la, la, la, la.

i     “The greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped.” That was the advertising slogan of the Chillicothe Baking Company, the manufacturers of Kleen Maid Sliced Bread, in 1928.

ii     Actually the group is quite popular.

iii    Some terms, like boycott, Oscar, and mesmerize, which derive from more recent figures, will probably persist.

iv     In my view. Actually you know that from last week's harangue.

v     And against

vi    What American, though familiar with the term “hack,” as in “hack stand,” knows what a hackney is or, for that matter, where Hackney is?

vii    Preferably with butter and salt.