Short Words

The importance of words in this politically-charged environment gets more and more obvious every day. President Trump's expressions in press conferences, interviews and  tweets are engaging as  well as enraging. Anyway you look at it, his words are certainly pervasive.

     However, we must not forget that a President's  words serve varied  purposes, becoming part of America's historical  and cultural legacies:  from speeches like Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address,"  to short sentences ( quotes ).  Consider such quotes from President  Obama: "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon;"  and "Everytime I think about those kids, it gets me mad."  The first expression initiated a national conversation on race; the second, regarding  Newtown's school shooting, spurred intense interaction on gun control.

     Both quotes demonstrate Obama's personal emotional connection to the subject matter: respectively, gun violence in both instances and particularly race.  His words are to the point, concise, and short. His references to "son" and "kids"  add the idea of his own parenthood.

     Trump's relatively recent quotes do not show similar emotional  or personal vulnerability: Consider, "There is blame on both sides" ( concerning the demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia ); and "I have tremendous respect for woman." Of course, this last statement is not only false  but is also exploding with irony. Like Obama's words, they, too, suggest a personal connection, but ones where intentions are  solely political. Yet, Trump's words are similarly concise and short. We don't have to think very hard to get the message. 

     It's apparent that concise and short words are popular with politicians ( President Ford's speech writer never had him use a word that was over three-syllables long ); news broadcasters follow the same

policy. Which is understandable because viewers usually have only one chance to hear and absorb a message. Many of the short words, therefore, carry a bold and precise wallop. Consider a few days ago on  PBS's "The News Hour"  when Judy Woodruff talked about General Motors letting workers go, employing violent-like expressions: " slashing workforce;" "shut down;" and "shake-up."

     Obviously, some newscasters use longer words from time to time as part of their style. For example, Brian Williams employed "existential" and "et al" ( and others ) on a recent night in one paragraph. It's  not certain if viewers understood what he meant because the terms were not put in a context.

      Another kind of media also favors short words in their titles. Most movies throughout the decades have short names: Remember the 2017/ 2018 Academy Award nominations for Best Film: "Moonlight;" "Fences;" "Dunkirk;" "The Post;" and "Get Out." The list is endless, yet there are always exceptions. A  favorite film of mine is " Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner." Now repeat that title very fast for three minutes.