Of words and polarization
Words matter.
The sun rises in the East. The sun appears to rise in the East.
Two words — appears to — changed the world forever.
For science, religion and all of civilization, there was no going back. Copernicus heralded the beginning of our modernity on this planet whose people were struggling in darkness and ignorance even as Earth continued to spin on its axis while journeying about the sun.
Galileo, following on from Kepler and Copernicus, uttered the fatal words “but it moves,” and was condemned. He recanted and was allowed to live out his life in peace while having to suffer with his own conscience and his betrayal of truth and science. Words matter.
Words destroy reputations, create heroes, start wars, convulse neighbourhoods, bring untold joy and endless sorrow; they are important. And their gravity or total silliness often depends on the source.
How many of you have said “I do”? These two tiny words changed your life forever and may have brought you untold joy, a life of unmitigated hell, or perhaps a life of quiet desperation. And if you said “I won’t,” you may still be wondering if they had been the right words.
A few days back, in talking with a friend, I was asked if I had seen or heard of the latest doings of a popular personality. My response was, no, I had not heard. The friend’s response was basically that if I had been following only the left or liberal press, I would probably have missed it!
Never mind the personality involved — I was totally taken aback by my friend’s response, but only momentarily.
Like many of you, I realize people seek out and hear only what they want to and that we are being totally polarized by those very words. In the past, this statement implied that while the listener had indeed heard what was said, they did not want to hear it and therefore denied it. Today if you lean to the right in your political beliefs, you can hear only what you want to hear by following the right-wing media — Fox News, National Post, for example.
On the other hand, if you lean to the left you are more likely to follow CNN, the New York Times and/or the Toronto Star.
It seems we really don’t want to hear what the “other side” is saying, never mind discuss it.
Take, for example, Donald Trump’s words after the Halloween attack in New York. He could barely be contained in his condemnation of terrorists, the U.S. justice system, and the U.S. immigration system as he ranted on and on.
Compare that with what he said after the Las Vegas carnage. Never were so few words spoken by a country’s leader about such a major tragedy in the history of the world. Simply put, he stated that the time — a day after the massacre — was not right for a discussion of gun control. And that was all. Finished.
And he was outrageously wrong. That says a lot about this president because he has been wrong about so many things. I recall being much more involved in maritime affairs and of hearing the then secretary general of the International Maritime Organization saying something to the effect that if you want to change the law, the rules, the regulations, or people’s minds about any given marine safety or marine environmental issue, all you need do is wait for a major accident or major marine pollution incident. How different is that from the president’s thinking?
Here in our province, I distinctly remember the inquiry into the Ocean Ranger and the change that it brought about in offshore safety regulation. Words do indeed matter.
But if we needed further evidence of the polarization taking place in this world, look no further afield than the U.S. There, while selecting your favourite message-friendly media, you can also choose a real estate company that will sell you property so that you can live near those who lean the same way politically. How cool is that?
And for those who lean towards religion, perhaps: “In the beginning was the Word…”
Wayne Norman St. John’s