by Rosalie Vincent

Created on: October 20, 2008

Communication - good and real communication, in which we seek to understand, and to ourselves be understood - is hard. It requires a certain transcendence of self, an objective awareness of another's potential perception, and a courageous willingness to enter what is the yet unknown in the name of progress and the greater good. It is effort, and risk.

I've been thinking a lot about communication lately, specifically about its ideal, eloquence, and have come to adamantly believe that eloquence is in fact one of the highest forms of respect we can pay to one another. Clearly, if one's good communication can be seen as outreaching and empathetic, the stretching of one's unsecured faith across the ravine of potential misunderstanding, surely eloquence is the extra mile gone; the newly-minted marathoner turning back to run, be damned exhaustedly, alongside and for the sake of another. Eloquence then, is hospitality, the written word's washing of readers' feet and the speechmaker's deeply bent bow before kings. It is the quintessential compliment, and gesture of goodwill.

For this reason, I hold eloquence and those capable of it in the highest regard. How could I not, after all, with the evident care such people have taken in addressing me? I feel valued by them and appreciated, which is, ironically for many, as it once was for me, one of the hardest feelings to have inside, like a guest too good, clean, and pure to receive with the rest of one's house in such a state of disarray. And perhaps this is the main reason one might feel inadequate and embarrassed, even angered by eloquence.

So,say what you will about it, John McCain, you have every right to express your opinions, but know that the manner in which you do so, the manner in which anyone does so, communicates much more about you, indeed, but also what you think about, and just how much you value... me.

Postscript:

Colin Powell responded to accusations by the McCain camp that Barack Obama is a muslim recently. His comments were featured on Meet the Press, and are as follows:"He's not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the better answer should be so what if he is? ... I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who were serving in Iraq and Afganistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was a mother in Arlington Cemetry, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards, Purple Heart, Bronze Star, showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian Cross. It didn't have a Star of David. It had a crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. His name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan. And he was an American."

The picture referenced above can be found here, and the Powell speech in its entirety here.

Learn more about this author, Rosalie Vincent.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.