“When Words Fail….”
By Jean Hastings Ardell
What ground we’ve lost since the time of Winston Churchill, prime minister during England’s “darkest hour” in World War II. “[Churchill] mobilized the English language and sent it into battle,” said President John F. Kennedy in 1963. (The quote is attributed to newscaster Edward R. Murrow.) As screenwriter Anthony McCarten puts it in “Taking a Page from Churchill,” “This isn’t merely a pretty metaphor. Words were really all he had back then.”
This summer, it’s downright impossible to be out and about and not be struck by the strange ways we’re using our words. Both sides of the political spectrum believe we’re in a war for the heart and soul and mind of America. We just don’t agree on who the enemy is. I recently spent an afternoon with a woman I’ve known for years who stated that Joe Biden’s administration is a terrorist regime. Another woman I respect for her professional expertise casually observed that the reason we’re seeing “so much homosexuality” is due to vaccinations. Plenty of words came to mind on these occasions, but I mostly refrained and listened.
Then there’s Christopher Kling, whose letter to the Indy of July 16 begins:
“Congratulations! Laguna Beach is once again the laughing stock of the entire nation after a majority of the City Council took a stand (why not a knee?) last weekend, with former Congressman Harley Rouda before, during or after his atrocious and hateful comments branding the more than 74 million citizens who voted for President Donald J. Trump, as ‘morons.’”
Kling goes on to excoriate the members of the City Council who attended Rouda’s talk to the Laguna Beach Democratic Club for:
“[T]he majority of the council has no moral compass, the hypocrisy is deafening, and the leadership is an utter disgrace…. For the sake of decency, the Laguna Beach City Council members who attended Harley Rouda’s Town Hall meeting last weekend, should issue their constituents an apology.”
This hyperbolic rhetoric underscores much of what’s wrong with our political discourse.
- Kling ignores the fact that the Council’s Decorum and Civility Policy applies to City Council meetings—it has nothing to do with what is said elsewhere in the city.
- The Policy was not passed to “shut up” Peter Blake. It was passed to ensure civil discourse. Though it’s well-documented that Blake revels in tossing expletives at people he disagrees with; the councilmember is free to not “shut up.” Given Kling’s sensitivity to the term “moron” you’d expect him to be equally outraged over Blake’s use of foul language.
- Kling’s rant undercuts his argument that Rouda’s comments were “atrocious and hateful.” Those adjectives could easily be applied to his own accusations that the attending councilmembers lack of a “moral compass” and “hypocrisy.” What? For attending a local Democratic Club meeting? No one had any idea what Rouda would say—and incidentally, those in attendance heard Rouda’s erudite comments on the issues the country faces, including a substantive analysis of our broken healthcare system. The councilmembers owe nobody an apology for exercising their constitutional right to peacefully assemble to educate themselves about a candidate. That’s what democracy calls us to do.
- As for Laguna’s being “the laughing stock of the entire nation” do the math, Mr. Kling. Fox News coverage of Rouda’s comment may have riled Trump’s 74 million voters. But they hardly comprise “the entire nation”—or even the majority—given the more than 81 million voters who elected Joe Biden.
Finally, with all the words being fired off these days, here are a few that I have not heard:
From the organizers of Liberate Laguna and its recently reinvented PAC Laguna Forward regarding their steady vilification of Village Laguna. You are essentially looking to profit financially by getting like-minded councilmembers elected. For the past 50 years, Village Laguna members have dedicated their time, energy, and money for the greater public good. So how about taking the high road, and saying, “We may disagree on the city’s future, but we appreciate what you’ve done to make Laguna what it is today.”
From Councilmember Peter Blake, regarding his volleys of expletives aimed at citizens and his colleague on the council, Toni Iseman: “Gee, you know what? I apologize. I know I’ve crossed the line sometimes.”
From the City of Laguna Beach, on Mohammad Honarkar’s three work stoppages for unpermitted work on the Hotel Laguna: “You’re fined.”
So I was pleased to learn from Cassie Walder, Laguna’s community information officer, that Honarkar was assessed twice the usual fee for his unpermitted work and issued a citation. Walder confirmed that the fee has been paid.
Words really are all we have in the battle against ignorance, so let’s choose them wisely.
Jean is the author of “Breaking into Baseball: Women and the National Pastime,” and the co-author with Ila Borders of “Making My Pitch: A Woman’s Baseball Odyssey.
