Two stories that occurred last week have me thinking about language and civility. The shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D. Arizona) and the scrubbing of Mark Twain’s classic, Huckleberry Finn.
The initial response from the shooting was to attack the lack of civility in politics today. By the way, not a new issue for this country. In the 1960′s the far left called for revolution and yelled “burn baby, burn”. Today the far right says “don’t retreat, reload”. Neither side is pure on this one.
And by the way, there is zero evidence that Jared Lee Loughner, the 22 year old who is alleged to be the shooter, was listening to the inflamed rhetoric from the political debate.
I have been a lobbyist for more than 20 years, and can only think of a couple of legislators who I truly disliked. Most of the Men and Women who serve in elected office are good people, who are sincere in their beliefs.
They honestly want to improve the State of Oklahoma and serve the citizens who elect them. Does that mean we always agree? Heck no! But I don’t need to demonize those who disagree with me.
The other big story that struck me was the new version of Mark Twain’s classic novel, ‘Huckleberry Finn”. Alan Gribben, a professor of English at Auburn University has replaced the “N” word with slave and “Injun” with Indian in a new edition. Mr. Gribben is worried that the use of the “N” word has resulted in the book being removed school reading lists.
As the father of an African-American daughter, I struggle with this one. I despise the “N” word. But it is a Tom Sawyer like whitewash of the historical setting, culture and reality of Huck Finn. The “N” word was used to show the hypocrisy of the times. It showed the inherent regalness of the escaped slave Jim. The only character who acted honestly in the tale is the same character who is degraded with language. It is not an easy read, but just like “To Kill a Mockingbird” it is not suppose to be an easy read.
So how do these two stories relate? Do we need to reflect on the tone and language we use in politics today? Of course. Do we need to legislate civility? No more than we need to whitewash Huck Finn.
The truth of the matter is we can not ignore our history. Slavery, and the mistreatment and marginalization of Women, African-Americans and Native Americans and others who weren’t White Middle Class Men, is a reality of our past. Study it, understand it, and discuss it in a respectful and civil tone.
January 12, 2011 at 8:37 pm |
Excellent article, Mark. One thing I would point out, however, is that the twenty year olds who chanted, “Burn, baby, burn” are most likely the very same people who are calling for “re-loading” in their sixties. The Baby Boomers have always been a vociferous lot.