Words Come First
In The Splendid and the Vile, author Erik Larson gives a stirring account of Winston Churchill during the German blitzkrieg on Great Britain. British forces had been supporting France but to no avail. As Germany surrounded the combined French and British forces at Dunkirk, the future of Great Britain looked bleak. Despite the severe threat, Churchill gave a speech to the British ministry declaring there could be no treaty or parlay with Hitler—only a fight to the end. Here Larson observed Churchill’s gift at “making people feel loftier, stronger, and above all, more courageous.” His was an aspirational persona, looking to be more than what seemed possible.
It is also a trait that is antithetical to President Trump. He has a knack for making people feel smaller, weaker, and more fearful than they would otherwise be. No one seems immune from drawing his scorn, and such words and actions have an effect on the nation, and it is the most ill of effects.
During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump claimed he would be more presidential than he was during the rough-and-tumble campaign: “I will be so presidential, you will be so bored. You'll say, ‘Can't he have a little more energy?’”
Sadly, this claim could not have been further from the truth. Had he followed through on the basic skill of biting his tongue or deleting his tweets, the last four years might have looked quite different. They certainly would have sounded different. And here is where it connects back to Winston Churchill: words make a meaningful difference.
This difference is more than just the claim that, “President Trump tells is like it is; there’s no B.S.” Yet more often than not, there’s plenty of B.S. just without any tact or consideration. Speaking without civility doesn’t mean you’re telling it like it is, it just makes you a jerk.
Churchill faced the worst that Great Britain could imagine. He did not sugarcoat the situation, and he told it like it was. But his words banded people together to face the trials ahead. He did not just speak to the Conservative Party that placed him in power, but he spoke to the empire as a singular people who were in the quagmire together and would emerge from it together. Yes, his actions made it possible, but the words came first, and it matters how a leader wields them.
When President-elect Biden gave his victory speech, it occurred before the election litigation concluded. There is little unity between this divided nation that split its support almost equally between two vastly different candidates. Here are the words Joe Biden shared:
“Tonight we are seeing all over this nation, all cities and all parts of the country, indeed across the world, an outpouring of joy, of hope, renewed faith in tomorrow to bring a better day. and I’m humbled by the trust and confidence you have placed in me. I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide, but unify. who doesn't see red states and blue states, only sees the United States…
[America] is about people, and that is what our administration will be all about. I sought this office to restore the soul of America…to unite us here at home.”
There are numerous policy matters where I disagree with our incoming president, but I could not be happier to see him ascending to the White House. As with Churchill before the Dunkirk evacuation, the words came first. There is much action needed to correct the dissension in this country—more than can be expected from one person. Yet it is heartening to hear a leader use words that have loftiness, strength and mere kindness when it has been so long that the tongue and tweets have included only dividing rage.
Before leaving office, President Washington warned about the ruinous effect of factions. He knew there was more that banded this country together than mere geography. Yet with a people living in such a vast land with diverse people, the ties that bind the nation together can—at times—feel loose indeed. But the people who make up the United States have shown themselves capable of turning times of upheaval into seasons of accord. We should hope and work toward such a season.
There is no way to predict what the next four years will bring. Given the tumult of 2020, there’s no way to predict what the remaining two months will bring. Still, it is heartening to hear a message that has an aspirational tone. Actions must always follow words, but words of hope and unity are an overdue step in the right direction.
