Monday, 22 July 2024
A Weird Freedom
A weirdness of the whole Joe Biden debacle has been the language. His supporters gave themselves the freedom to describe Biden as capable, competent and on top of the job when he was clearly nowhere near their contrived version of his fitness for the presidential role.
It was done through language and it’s worth reflecting on the freedom language offers influential people to spin imaginary realities millions are willing to enter. Not only the media, but millions of ordinary people took advantage of this weird freedom to enter the unreal world of Joe Biden as US President.
Biden is a remarkably forceful reminder that language enfolds us in positive and negative ways, limiting and liberating we might say.
Liberating if we use the language of possibilities to analyse the language of consensus, but limiting the other way round. Politicians and bureaucrats do it the other way round, insisting on limiting consensus over possibilities. This is the language which supported the Biden debacle for millions – the weird freedom to say what isn’t so.
The language of curiosity says “try other possibilities and see where we go.” Or language of the obvious beckons and says “look at this, it’s there for anyone to see if they look.” Or more specifically, “Joe Biden isn’t up to it – just look and listen.”
But we may be sure that the weird freedom to describe Biden as he wasn’t will be replaced by an equally weird freedom to describe Kamala Harris as she isn’t. Not the language of other, obvious and more liberating possibilities.
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3 comments:
As long, AKH … as we can be unburdened by what has been … that which it is, because time, see … well it’s time and time … well it is … and that too.
I suppose that once people are committed to a view about something, and a form of words which adequately describes that view, then it's easier to disregard whole chunks of reality than to actively change that view and the language.
Maybe it's a matter of effort. It's the easiest thing in the world to not pay attention to something. And in Biden's case, if voters knew him over a number of years, they ignore the later years - the stumbling and the gaffes which show the passing of time. They've still got memories of a relatively competent man. He's only really been on the UK public's radar for about five years (I have no memories of him as VP) so it was probably easier for Americans to see the "old Joe".
In the same vein, did people spot Thatcher losing her verve and judgement towards the end? She made daft mistakes over the Poll Tax, but people probably remembered the "Iron Lady" of former years.
James - and the other aspects... drifting in and out like... you know how the things are before they become... well something else...
Sam - "It's the easiest thing in the world to not pay attention to something."
I agree, it's very common too. Many mainstream media comments betray a lack of effort, an allegiance to partisan language so crude it should embarrass the users of it, but it doesn't. Effective leaders such as Thatcher and Trump eventually have a tough time, possibly as people forget that more needs to be done. Lack of effort again.
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