Death by a Thousand Cuts

One of my sisters just sent me one of those “forward-to-everyone-you-know!!!!” e-mails expressing outrage that Sen. Obama was running for President of America rather than “some muslim country.”   It contained a number of quotes about his views of Christians and whites that (if accurate) were obviously out of any context.  I may respond to my sister (an ordained Presbyterian elder, currently Assembly of God member, a Huckabee fan, and a Missourian) – or not.  I’m not an Obama supporter, but I am usually very impressed with his campaign demeanor and style, the perspective on unity that he brings, and his manner of response to detractors.

 

The basis for my comments now comes out of not just the quotes but the vociferous attacks on Barack Obama, as well as Hillary Clinton, and John McCain, based upon what people seem to want to believe about them.  So many of these attacks arise out of short excerpts or clips from speeches and books by the candidates or their spouses or supporters.  Some of these comments don’t need context: they are misstatements or gaffes.  The effect was stated almost as well as I had intended to express it, by a recent commentary by Joe Klein speaking of McCain Gaffery in Time.com*:   “Sometimes a gaffe is the revelation of ignorance. Sometimes it’s just…a gaffe. It is simply ridiculous for journalists–and political operatives–to expect perfect speech from candidates at all times.”  http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/05/mccain_gaffery.html    I hardily agree with that sentiment and have tended to discount the attacks and ridicule about such statements as Mrs. Obama new-found support of America, Hillary on the death of RFK, or John’s understanding of Muslim sects. 

 

Could any of us survive 24/7 scrutiny of every word we say or expression we make?  We don’t normally have the opportunity to write out and study our words before we say them.   And even if we did (as the candidates occasionally have time to do), what would that sentence we might state about our summer fun sound like when put into the context of theological discussion or the needs of the homeless?  Would we pick our words and subjects to meet the situation in which they were expressed, only to find them repetitiously repeated and placed as universal truths for all occasions?  We would not want that for ourselves and our candidates do not deserve it either.

 

The Chinese had a method of execution know as  凌迟  (transliterated as língchí) or “slow slicing” (impressed?  See Wipipedia.*).  It has developed into the term used in literature as “Death by a thousand cuts.”  A few “paper cuts” here and there are not going to hurt much and certainly won’t do any permanent damage.  But small cut after cut after cut eventually leads to the loss of enough flesh or blood that the victim dies.  I feel that term describes what “we” are doing to the candidates and political process.  Public and media jibes, ridicule, and hostility to our candidates and parties made on the basis of isolated gaffes, off the cuff comments, or words out of context cause us to dehumanize the candidates and make them seem evil or even objects of ridicule. 

 

(*A side note, the Internet has some wonderfully amazing resources from which I cited to only two.  E.g., the most significant thing that I learned on-line this weekend that the 2007 Bordeaux Blanc from Chateau Lamoth de Haux, with its refreshing acidity, citrus notes, and touch of vanilla, is a great white to serve with hot dogs!  Of course, this disclosure would subject me to endless ridicule on Fox News loops if I were a candidate.)

 

In conclusion of this musing, I’m not suggesting that we ignore our candidates when they advocate a position or even say something really dumb.  My concern is that the propensity to isolate comments to mean something that the candidate did not intend or even repudiates makes us miss the important points.  When we spend time on ridicule or puffing, we avoid spending time to study the issues addressed or missed by the candidates and find out what they really believe.  I will try to do better as we go through this campaign.

 

Joe Allen Lang