Richard Littledale's
Views on the News: September 2013

The violent death of language

Almost a century ago, US Senator Hiram Johnson is credited with saying that "the first casualty when war comes is truth". Since then it has been variously adapted, quoted, mis-quoted and spun - thereby giving some evidence of his point!

With discussions afoot about military action against Syria as a response to the use of chemical weapons I witnessed an act of lexical homicide live on television. A US spokesman on British television called for 'aggressive diplomacy' and I could have sworn I heard the second word whimper as he said it. Surely "aggressive diplomacy" is tautology? It can be one or the other but not both. When we bend language itself into shape we have sacrificed our best tool for articulating the universe.

Writing centuries ago, and long before chemical weapons were invented, Jesus called upon his followers to be straightforward in their language. "Let your yes be yes", he said, "and your no be no". Simple advice perhaps - but when life gets complicated simplicity can be such an asset.

There are no simple answers to the complex questions of international diplomacy. President Obama has described the use of chemical weapons as "an assault on human dignity". Christians must be in prayer for those who make decisions on a geopolitical scale. As they do so, simple words would work just fine...