Words matter. Even a chimp knows that

I

IHAVE always been interested in words and language. When I was a psychology student, many of us were fascinated by research into teaching chimps to communicate. Because chimps do not have our vocal apparatus, researchers turned to American Sign Language. The most famous of these researchers, Allen and Beatrix Gardner, raised Washoe in their own home.

Over the years, she learned to ‘speak’ 350 signs appropriately.

I have never watched Donald Trump without thinking of Washoe. It is possible the chimp had a bigger vocabulary. Washoe died in 2007, aged 42, and so witnessed Donald when he was only saying “you’re fired” in the safe confines of a TV show. One wonders what she would have signed when Trump got 62,984,828 votes. Perhaps, as a female, she would have merely covered her eyes.

My college years were also very exciting years for space travel. We were long past Laika the dog and Ham the chimpanzee being the space pioneers. We were sending humans and I was engrossed.

There have been a lot of blue skies recently and this has made current life a great deal more pleasant for those of us fortunate to be able to get out of the house. I have found myself on many mild lockdown evenings looking up at the stars. I live in the depths of the country and there is little light pollution. It is as if the sky is on top of me. It is hard to look at the universe and not become lost in awe and think some ‘meaningful’ thoughts. I often look at the moon and wonder what we look like from there. I well remember watching on TV as Neil Armstrong uttered his famous “one small step for man, one giant lea )p for mankind” statement, and later looking spellbound at the moon knowing two men were there.

I was thinking of Neil, and the others who followed in his footsteps, as the two recent astronauts made their way to the International Space Station. I did meet Chris Hadfield briefly and he seemed to be enjoying a life of endlessly answering questions. Small wonder that he headed back to the ISS for a second time to get a bit of peace. I remember thinking that in front of me was one of that small group of people who have seen the world for what it is: the

Third Rock from the Sun.

The Space X two, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, left behind a world in the grip of a virus, and looked back at an America where cities were on fire because race issues that had been prominent when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon have not gone away in over half a century. In these Facetime days, I have friends and relatives in the US talking to me with an emotion I have not often seen. All were appalled. Some a bit frightened. Many of these are a generation who have friends of all colours and races and in their daily lives see skin colour as irrelevant.

That others think differently fills them with horror and shame. Mentally I put myself on the ISS. I am up there with them looking down on us. I get a bit emotional after months of lockdown. I first went to the US on a J1 visa as a student. The money I made changed my life and I am eternally grateful for the opportunity and for the open arms and friendship I received. I have been back there more times than I can count and have always felt at home on American soil.

It comes back to words. They matter. ‘Fake’ has a meaning. Destruction of truth matters. Dividing a world into us and them matters. The greatest nation the world has ever seen is being led, and badly damaged, by an idiot. I do wonder whether Washoe might have made a better fist of it.