If you want to win a war, use words…

There’s an old saying that “the pen is mightier than the sword”, and it is as strikingly true today as it ever has been – if “pen” embraces the use of words in general.

People are often judged more by what they say than by what they do. Or even by what other people say about them.

Use a word out of place, make an inappropriate remark or a ill-judged joke, and your reputation can be ruined for life. You can also be ruined for life by a mere allegation – rather than an examination of facts – by words transmitted electronically.

I am no fan of Donald Trump and I wish there were someone more edifying in the White House. Yet it’s extraordinary how passionately, ardently and remorselessly he is hated for what he says – or is alleged to have said. Some people are obsessed with hating him. The New York Times has considerably increased its output and reach because so many people like to work themselves up into a froth of detestation against Trump.

Meanwhile, according to Justin Webb, British commentator on American politics, the American economy is doing just fine right now, and that’s what most voters care about – jobs. And Trump’s foreign policy is quite sane, says Justin. But that doesn’t weigh against the reckless words he sometimes uses.

Argument

Words and phrases are the political tools of today. Invent a clever phrase and you win an argument.

Surely Catholic parents are entitled to have priority when placing their children in Catholic schools? The phrase used to extinguish that notion is ‘the baptism barrier’, as though a Christening were a deliberate obstruction against the unbaptised. Just as ‘bodily autonomy’ is now the phrase to indicate support for abortion up to birth, as though pregnancy didn’t involve the bodies of both mother and infant.

Those who would defend a moral – or even practical – position should first focus on the currency of language, and how a single phrase can make all the difference on impact. It has been done before: John Redmond invented the phrase “the House of Lords veto” to demonstrate the disgraceful way in which the House of Commons’ vote on Home Rule for Ireland was frustrated. Sinn Féin today has used “parity of esteem” and rights to “equality” very adroitly in the context of the North.

Wordsmiths – attend to this most powerful of all tools: words.

Mocking the less fortunate

I wondered if the Arctic weather would dissuade some younger (and not-so-young) people from wearing deliberately torn jeans, a prevailing fashion. But even in the bitterest cold, I notice the purposely ragged garments still appear.

I don’t object to this fashion on grounds of either tidiness or ‘respectability’. I’m fond of an eccentric fashion look. What I dislike about the deliberately ripped britches is that it seems to mock the poor. Multi-millionaires like David Beckham have led this style, when poor people in poor countries often need clothing. People in refugee camps often desperately need warm garments, not torn trousers.

The actor Colin Farrell recently appeared in a shirt with deliberately ripped sleeves. Again, to me, it’s a rich man mocking the poor.

Brexit could be a job for St Jude

From what I hear, Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU are not going well. Someone who was present at a special meeting last week between British business people and Michel Barnier [pictured] came away “very pessimistic” about the chances of a “soft” deal.

The impression was firmly given that the EU 27 are determined to “punish” Britain for voting to leave.

But does the EU realise that a ‘hard Brexit’ is very bad for Ireland – which has been a loyal EU member, and doesn’t deserve to be punished? A Dublin trader told me earlier this week that a ‘hard Brexit’ will mean a 20% levy on most of his stock, which would put him, and his staff, out of business. “It would be catastrophic,” he said.

I suggested there must be a saint to whom to pray for a positive outcome. St Brigid of Sweden is the designated European saint, but the trader thought that St Jude, who assists hopeless cases, might be better casting.