Say as I Say

Say as I Say

A couple of years ago I decided that every third or fourth book I read would be a classic that I’d either never encountered, or that I read, haphazardly, while in high school or college.  Without publishing the full list, I’ll volunteer only that I’ve very much enjoyed the undertaking, though Dickens’ Bleak House was interminable.

I recently completed Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.  I think I may have read the first several chapters while an undergraduate, before shifting to Cliff’s Notes, thereby depriving myself of what is, arguably, the work’s greatest source of pleasure: Ms. Austen’s command of the English language.  Her amazingly elaborate expositions of thought and sentiment (in contrast to the near total absence of descriptions of things) provided a wonderfully illuminating view of the social sensibilities and foibles of the early 19th century British landed gentry.

Had I read the entirety of the work while still in my teens I doubt I would have appreciated the author’s insights into human nature.  I’d have been oblivious to her abundant humor, and would likely have conflated formality and propriety. (There were no shortage of insults expressed with the utmost formality.)  But it was the austere beauty of the language, itself, that would most likely have been lost on me, just as it will now leave the most lasting of impressions.

(Re-)reading Pride and Prejudice failed to kindle any longing to have lived in Regency-Period England. I’m quite happy to live my life in the here and now, warts and all.  I appreciate the fact that most Americans have always looked askance at class systems, and have worked to fashion a society in which the facts of one’s birth and one’s ‘connections’ need not stand in the way of upward mobility.  (We may still have work left to do, but I don’t believe we’ve abandoned the task.)

That being said, would it be so terrible if our manner of speech were to become just a bit more dignified, formal, and respectful?  I’m not suggesting that a new movement be launched with the aim of restoring the sort of hyper-formal discourse found in Jane Austen’s works. I’d gladly settle for a modest elevation of our speech, and, particularly, a perceptible elevation of our political speech.

Thanks to social media, political speech is more abundant than at any time in history.  That’s a good thing for a participatory democracy.  On the other side of the ledger, the nature of everyday political speech among citizens has become ever more base.  This ‘race to the bottom’ is abetted by legions of radio and television talk-show pundits who dispense a steady stream of ‘red meat’ to the lowest common denominator, in an effort to drive ratings.  Reasoned and reflective argumentation has given way to angry sound bites and defamatory sloganism.  The crudeness and vitriol isn’t confined to one party, or one side of the political spectrum.  Increasingly, members of each party and each side can be seen othering their fellow citizens.  E pluribus unum is in serious trouble.  The deterioration of civil discourse is rending asunder the social fabric that makes concepts such as ‘common good’ and ‘general welfare’ meaningful.

Private schools would do well to address the problem.  Perhaps it’s time to bring Debate Club, increasingly, into our ‘regular’ classrooms and standard curricula. Public schools may be constrained from doing so.  Private schools are not. It’s, admittedly, a highly sensitive area, but it might prove both exciting and therapeutic for schools to orchestrate planning committees populated with parents holding differing political views and affiliations, who are tasked with the responsibility of creating experimental programs designed to develop respectful civil discourse.

They may seldom admit it, but kids learn from, and often mimic their parents.  And we’re not exactly setting fine examples when it comes to political discourse.  Our schools may be able to do something about this – something both educational and affirmative – and parents can actually be part of the change.  Is it risky?  Perhaps.  But the rewards could prove to be more than commensurate, substantial, and fulfilling.

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