I recently reviewed a book that I believe failed to argue
well. I think that it is indicative of a recent loss of argument and logic
noted by two glaring problems: the fade of language and the resurfacing of
pictorial presentations.
The Fade of Language and Discourse
I don’t think it will take much to convince you of this
fade. Just consider for example all of the fragment sentences you read that
begin with “That moment when…” Or consider the common attention span when it
comes to reading something: novels are relegated to the ‘nerds’ while memoirs
and essays are saved for the ‘intellectuals’ alone. Not only does the average
Caucasian and African American in the US speak only one language (as opposed to
two like our Spanish, Mexican, Asian, and Middle-Eastern counterparts), but
even the language of English is fading. Need proof? Open up Facebook and scroll
through your News Feed—how many tri-syllable words can you count? How many
incorrect uses of homophones (their/there/they’re) can you count? Our language
is being shortened… legitimately (or as is common: ‘legitly’)—and yet even that
word doesn’t mean “actually” or “really” even though I just used it that way.
Legitimately means ‘with due reason.’
I understand that a living language is constantly in flux,
that economy and efficiency is necessary in dialogue; I understand that those
fragment ‘moments’ are relying on your experience to convey information, and
that fragments are valid when employed properly: “Learn the rules like a
professional, so you can break them like an artist,” but at the same time
language is not only utilitarian. Language can be beautiful, and affective, not
only effective. In fact, if iPhone’s autocorrect didn’t place apostrophes in
words like “I’m”, then I’m pretty sure they’d be absent already; you’d think it
was the symbol for making a smile cry. In fact, if you look upon your keyboard
symbols, of which usages are you aware?
Did you know that Jonathan Edwards wrote and presented his
high school Valedictorian speech in Latin? Certainly, Jonathan Edwards was more
intelligent than most any of us, acclaimed as the greatest American mind we’ve
raised up. But Greek and Latin were taught to all teenagers only three hundred
years ago. Now you’d be lucky to know that those fraternity symbols can form
words, and that much of our English language is built upon them. “We’ve gone
from teaching Latin and Greek in high school to teaching remedial English in
college,” one meme states.
Language is only one part of the problem though. We’re also
losing the ability to argue. To debate. To state a belief and defend it. I
remember hearing several of my classmates in middle school state their desire
even ability to be a lawyer when they grew up: “I’m great at arguing!” False.
They were great at becoming heated and denying the claims of another. In
college, I heard countless people brag about their ability to “say nothing” but
fill pages with text. Really? Is that admirable? To meet the requirements for a
class paper, 2 pages long, but not accomplishing anything with it? That sounds
like a colossal waste of time, and an unworthy use of your Creator’s graces to
you. Do you realize that the Creator is also Judge?
My friend Alex Hannis (A.M. Hannis), has stated, "If every political argument could be reduced to a meme, then there wouldn't be an argument!" Argument is an art, not founded upon emotional fervor, but
founded upon thought and connection. We could learn something from our two year
old children who ask, “Why? Why? Why?” Maybe you should take a moment to
actually answer ‘why” until they are satisfied. Can you do it? We have gone
from presenting a belief and supporting it with evidence, addressing
counterarguments and questioning presuppositions to stating something as a
matter of fact, and leaving it as skywriting in the atmosphere to be either
believed or disbelieved; accepted or rejected—whichever happens is not my
prerogative but your own.
The Resurfacing of Pictorial Presentations
Memes, Buzzfeed and HuffPost slideshows, Screenshots of Flappy Bird—the word has been once again
replaced by the picture. The picture is an excellent conveyer of meaning, but
the “thousand words” it gives aren’t all unified and consistent. My friend
Jessi once said, “I feel like it’s watching a movie with the volume down.” You
can gather a general idea, but
without words you miss a major part of the story. Else we would be reverting to
silent films—but the most recent one, The
Artist, has words to explain it! Vimeo offers a safe sphere for experimenting
and influencing, but you would never be able to evaluate what you see (even in
your own mind) without words to do so. Attempt. Attempt to consider something
beautiful or fearful… then think about it without words for 30 seconds.
[[Your failure to actually experiment with what I’ve argued (by
considering something beautiful or fearful, etc.) reveals further the absence
of desire to understand and confront the argument (see section 1).]]
The picture is king. But that is extremely unfortunate for
us. The picture has been king before in ancient and medieval worlds. And when
the picture is king, when language becomes the possession of the privileged, we
submit ourselves to become slaves of culture. For many years, the Roman Church
commenced mass in Latin, once the vulgar tongue (common), eventually it became
lost to the masses. People became prisoners to the religious and social elite.
Certainly! There were pictures of the gospel upon the walls, but without the
words to accompany them, the individuals were left writhing in their own sin,
speaking another language than the nurses.
Pictures are beautiful and helpful. And valuable for both in
their own right. But the picture is not total, and it has never been. But if we
can get a laugh or a wow from one perfectly timed, we think our job done—your job,
believer is not to humor or amaze, but to be an agent of reconciliation showing
forth the beauty of the world and using it to point to the God who speaks—the Word
become flesh.
Choose your source(s) and build.
Revelation. Tradition. Logic. Experience.
P.S. "Meme" is a word that signifies a cultural package that easily moves among the people.
