Word science
March 13 – 2024
Think, Say, Do: 4T Responsibility
Written by Vicente Morales Pérez
Last year I heard a speaker say that “politics is the science of words,” saying that politics is dialogue, speech, debate, argument, idea, negotiation, agreement, persuasion, coordination, debate, deliberation, and rhetoric. I agree with this concept of politics, because it is a human activity, where speech is needed to generate rapprochement with citizens, dialogue to build consensus, and debate to resolve differences.
However, things have changed a bit in recent years, as the power of image on television and print media has bred superficial politicians, worried about having an impeccable hairstyle or perfectly ironed clothes and forgetting to talk to people.
A similar phenomenon occurs on social networks, where many women and men are more interested in arousing sympathy and popularity, but participate in politics without ideas. Words have intention, they are a reflection of our personality and show the ideology we belong to.
Historically, words have expressed right- and left-wing discourses throughout history. There are memorable speeches in every episode of Human Life, where the words were an exhortation to democratic life or a call to rebellion. It is not about talking for the sake of talking, but about defending opinions, building collective projects through dialogue, and adding ideas to everyday life.
When Aristotle speaks of Zoon Politikón (an inherently political animal) he refers to the social being, the person who, through language, constructs and modifies the reality of politics. Today, more than ever, we are asking politicians to speak up again. We cannot think about fair popular representation if we do not have a permanent dialogue with citizens. Can we represent those we do not know? I think this is impossible, to represent it it is necessary to speak.
We cannot think of a democracy of silence. It is debate and public debate that stimulate the use of words, otherwise silence is a characteristic of authoritarian regimes, in which speaking or disagreeing is prohibited. It may seem trite to say that we “represent the people,” but when there is constant and open communication with citizens, we can say that it is an act that is consistent with the concept of a “popular representative.”
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