Words Matter. Context Matters More.

January 14, 2009

I admit it, I have high expectations. When Barack Obama takes the oath of office next week and gives his inaugural address, I expect oratory fireworks. I expect words that spark and pulse and burn hot across the curtain of history, setting the damn thing afire. I expect to oooh and ahhh and let the embers slow fade into my memory. This occasion demands greatness and so do the people.

Narrative has a fascinating article called, "First Words: The Best and Worst of Inaugural Speeches." It's ironic and prescient. I highly encourage you to take a look. Just a taste:

George H. W. Bush, January 20, 1989

There are times when the future seems thick as a fog; you sit and wait, hoping the mists will lift and reveal the right path. But this is a time when the future seems a door you can walk right through into a room called tomorrow.

...and apparently a recession and the first gulf war

George W. Bush, January 20, 2001

We will build our defenses beyond challenge, lest weakness invite challenge. We will confront weapons of mass destruction, so that a new century is spared new horrors.

...he told us his agenda in the first few lines of his inauguration.

Words matter, folks. They really do. However, using beautiful or powerful words out of context just makes you a jackass. This brings me to Rod Blagojevich, the soon to be ex-governor of Illinois.

Literary Douchebag of the Week

Allow me to rant here. This Chia Pet-haired and clay-brained doofus did the world of poetry no favors this week. After the Illinois senate voted to impeach him, he held a press conference. The content of the press conference was laugh-out-loud ridiculous. But he really pissed me off, when at the end of the press conference, he delivered his parting shot. He quoted the classic poem Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson. He took the ending of the poem out of context and used it as a defiant rallying cry for his continued fight against his usurpers. Disgraceful.

If you haven't read this poem, you should. It's amazing and you will immediately find it familiar. In the context of the poem, Ulysses is near the end of his life. He finds ruling tedious and recognizes that his skills are a poor fit for the job. He proudly passes his kingdom on to his son, Telemachus. Ulysses is wistful and reminiscent of his times as hero. He rails against the indignity of old age and death. He craves to set sail for one final adventure with old friends. How is that for a little context? It's certainly not a rallying cry for an embittered and corrupt public official. I guess co-opting a classic poem is small change for a man who'd sell a senate seat to the highest bidder.

Just a warning, poetry is not a cloak of invisibility that you can hide behind. Poetry is an invisible cloak that reveals what's within.