Razing McCain

It's not news when political oratory heats up during these quadrennial silly seasons. But I really prefer the lofty language of a Ronald Reagan or Mario Cuomo - heck, even unneutral Newt could give an inspirational speech, such as when he was sworn in as House Speaker. But, oy, the invectives we've been hearing since Senator McCain became the apparent front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination! Well, today he became the de facto nominee now that we are mitout Mitt, and who knows what we can expect to hear next? One would think that the republic is in danger now that the apparent nominee is the Viet Nam POW cum senator from Arizona.

Look, I'm not naive. I know that hyperbole is a way to rally your troops. But there was at least one Rush to judgment when we heard that "McCain will destroy the Republican party." Similarly, when Romney backed out today, he said that he had to rally the party around the nominee, fearing that the nation would elect Obama or Clinton "in this time of war." Those are particularly incendiary words, evoking Edward R. Murrow reporting from the rooftops of London during the air raids. (By the way, please don't think I am picking on the Republicans. Such pomposity is not partisan. For example, I've noticed that every time Senator Obama wins a primary, he treats the occasion as though he has set the ship of state on a new course. Back off, Barack. You don't even have the nomination yet, let alone the American Presidency.)

My interests here are not political. This is a lesson for all of us who are speakers or communicators of any stripe. It is at times like these that I remember the words of Marshall McLuhan, who said that "Eternal vigilance brings indifference." Citizens will start tuning out these tirades, and in a Gresham Law of Rhetoric, this bombast stands to drive out valuable, meaningful discussion. Mae West once said that too much of a good thing is wonderful, but I don't think that applies to public discourse. Like all inflation, this stands to devalue the intrinsic value of our language. Do your best to protest it and not stand for it, but at the very least, let's watch our language and not repeat it.