Are we speaking the same language?
September 4th, 2008My father, who is approaching 90 years of age, often shares stories with me of his childhood. My grandfather (his dad), worked for the Italian government as an interpreter. His job and passion in life was to provide a channel in which the needs of business owners, citizens, tourists, men, women and children can have an outlet to be heard and understood. As my father tells it, my grandfather executed his duties with a deep resounding energy and commitment. From where I sit it’s a natural evolution for me to have the same motivation and passion in life and so I’ve spent the past 20 years advocating for people by being their voice.
Last night Governor Sarah Palin presented to the nation, and to the world, her resounding energy and commitment to be an interpreter and to be the voice for the people. I relate very well to the notion of being “of service” to the people and I feel safe, confident and pleased when I hear the future VP of the United States talk to me in my own language. The irony is that we’ve become a country where, despite our use of the same words in a language that is our mother tongue, we do not understand what is being said. The smiles on our faces has been replaced by the same quizzical look that we get when we ask for a coffee shop or ATM in a country where we do not speak their native language.
In today’s news reports and review of Palin’s speech some have alluded that her suggestion that we turn to our own oil reserves is a continued perspective of being oil reliant, which would in turn cause us to also continue to pander to big oil companies. Allow me to interpret. What the Governor expressed was the idea that using our natural oil reserves is one of many options that we have to consider as we turn away from foreign oil dependency. Palin also mentioned alternative energy resources such as gas and nuclear energy, but somehow that was lost in translation.
There has also been mention today that the references being made by some of the delegates about how attractive she is a nod towards how The Party is not taking the Governor seriously. The idea that the thoughts and ideas of a few people are reflected or held in high esteem by the masses is as ridiculous as suggesting that we all believe that raising taxes is going to be better for our economy.
Language is key to our ability to evolve as a community and culture. Sometimes our communication does not have to be verbal and our actions and our deeds can speak volumes about our belief systems. Last night we saw a woman standing at the pulpit expressing her view and sharing her dreams about how she will work to improve the quality of our life. She expressed her sentiments about what she felt was wrong with our political system and what she was prepared to do to put our country first. And no greater expression of how far we’ve come as a society is needed than to seen her husband Todd holding their 6-month-old boy Trig. What a wonderful interpretation and expression of desire and commitment.
My grandfather passed away when my father was young and he and my uncles and aunt had to learn to interpret the world on their own. They worked tirelessly to provide for the family by selling books and produce on street corners. They learned to not only speak the language of all the people, but they learned compassion by being open minded to the needs and wants of the people. That is what made them all successful. These are the same qualities that we need in our political leaders. Leaders that have stood on street corners working on behalf of the people and putting into action deeds that yield results. We’ve seen this out of Palin as she served as Governor of Alaska.
Ultimately, my father became a professional photographer and was appointed to cover King Hussein of Jordan where he spent 25 years serving The Royal Family. He subsequently spent the rest of his professional years taking pictures of school children, weddings, proms, Bar and Bat Mitzvah’s, Confirmations, and Baptisms. He learned to express, articulate and interpret a feeling through a picture versus that of the spoken word. He has passed that gift to my brothers and me and we’ve all become great listeners who pride ourselves on understanding what someone is trying to say when they are speaking to us.
We must learn to listen, and accurately interpret, what is being said to us by the people. And the people have clearly said that we must create new partnerships in America and to use those partnerships to raise the tide of humanity to new levels. We can no longer allow sentences to be broken and to allow chance to fill in what we think might fit in between the words that we do understand.
What I heard last night from Governor Palin is that she fully understands our language and that she will work tirelessly to deliver our request. A safer, independent, prosperous America.
* FLUTIE *
