With the Archbishop chairing one hopes that the language will be respectful. How has our political language become so debased? The Sun and Fox News have had the lowest standards for ever but in government and society as a whole there had been an element of care in our use of words. I suggest that the downward spiral began when Donald Trump first hinted he would stand for President and immediately accused Mexicans of being ‘rapists’ and the incumbents at the White House being ‘losers’. If having grace and compassion and fine oratory ( as both Barack Obama and Michelle have) is what it means to be a loser –I’d be proud to be called a’ loser’ anytime!
I cannot understand why the so called ‘Christian’ right stood by him when he boasted of his impunity to abuse women by ‘grabbing pussy’. Is there a religious supporter of the President who can explain that to me? Sadly racism runs deep in the USA. His language on race is not much better he even managed to be an apologist for a White Supremacist killer in Charlottesville.
I have just listened to Michelle Bachelet on ‘Her story made history.’ Her language like that of Barack Obama is of compassion, reason and hope. Being a female president she had to walk a difficult path. Had she made a mistake – unlike her male predecessors – failure would have been blamed on her gender. How can we recover the civic dialogue of the likes of Obama and Bachelet, Tony Benn and John Major ? Is it because arrogant populist egotists – like the ‘big men’ who dominate politics in Africa don’t need to be careful?