Language and politics have a complex relationship, and the two have been intertwined since ancient times. Language, through its ambiguity and hidden powers, allows people to declare themselves against society and establish themselves as virtuous human subjects. However, in the modern world, the role of language has changed. With the advent of digital technology, propaganda, and totalitarianism, language is used to manipulate and dominate people rather than to discuss and convince them. In this way, language has lost its authenticity, intimacy, and inner truth, leading to a crisis of political trust. To combat this crisis, citizens must protect the sphere where they can choose how to relate to the world and find a way in rather than being swept away by the tempest. Civic responsibility is critical in this process, as is protecting the foundational skill set of language for living virtuously and politically.
The Power of Language Revealed in King Charles I’s Scaffold Speech
The impact of consumer society and digital technology on language has had profound effects on our ability to live virtuously and politically. Despite this, King Charles I’s Scaffold Speech demonstrates the hidden powers of language that we often overlook.
Charles I delivered his famous speech to the London crowds from the scaffold just before his execution. His speech began with a few sentences that highlighted why he chose to speak at that moment. He believed that holding his peace would imply his submission to the guilt as well as the punishment. By speaking, he hoped to clear his name as an honest man, a good king, and a good Christian.
Although language is commonly used for social purposes such as sharing knowledge and asking for help, Charles did not use language for coordination in his speech. As a convict facing certain death, coordination would not have made sense. Instead, he used language to establish himself as an honest man, a good king, and a good Christian on his own terms. He declared himself against the will of society and became something of value in himself.
The beauty of language is its ambiguity. It makes us social in the communicative sense, but it also enables us to declare ourselves against society. Language makes a person a subject with an unalienable claim for truth, not reducible to the verdict of society that they are a part of. This reveals the hidden powers of language that we often overlook.
In conclusion, King Charles I’s Scaffold Speech teaches us something vital about language. It is not only for social coordination but also for establishing oneself as a virtuous human subject against the will of the many. Despite the impact of consumer society and digital technology on language, we must recognize its hidden powers and use them to live virtuously and politically.
The Birth of the Hero and the Power of Language in Politics
Drama shows us the dual functionality of language. Most of the time, we use language for social purposes, such as interacting with others. However, in monologues or last words, characters use language to establish themselves. This birth of the hero allows us to see their inner subjectivity and reinterpret their deeds.
In modern societies, we must remember that language is the only tool that can make us virtuous and social. It is the only tool that can make us political, interacting with others while adhering to conceptions of good and evil, just and unjust.
The ancient Greek culture invented politics as a profoundly linguistic culture. The idea of the logos (word, reason, order) nurtured the great achievements of Greek culture, particularly philosophy, drama, and politics. The noble tradition of politics-by-speech runs through the veins of western civilization.
From the Greek agora to the Roman forum, from Cicero and the art of rhetoric to Simon de Montfort and the dawn of parliamentarism, from the salons of the Enlightenment to the coffee houses of the nineteenth century, political spaces are linguistic spaces. Politics works only with the tongue.
In conclusion, drama shows us the birth of the hero and the power of language in establishing oneself against society. In modern societies, we must remember that language is the only tool that can make us virtuous and social, and the noble tradition of politics-by-speech runs through the veins of western civilization.
The Evaporation of Language and the Decline of the Hero
From the twentieth century on, the legacy of Cicero and de Monfort began to fade away. Mass technology, propaganda, and totalitarianism led to language being used for domination and manipulation rather than discussion and persuasion. Language became a technique of domination and demagogy, eradicating the virtuous human subject.
As language degenerated, so did the idea of the hero. The classical hero, who once defended virtue against the unjust use of power, was twisted and corrupted into a totalitarian hero, leading the masses towards the immoral void of tyranny.
Although the defeat of totalitarianism brought a return to a political culture, our linguistic spaces have been demolished by consumer society and digital technology. Our foundational skillset for living virtuously and politically has been shattered.
Consumer society and digital technology represent interaction but not true independence, for they do not come about through language. Language is our historically evolved system of uniqueness, subjectivity, and knowledge.
In conclusion, the decline of language has led to the evaporation of the legacy of Cicero and de Monfort and the corruption of the classical hero into a totalitarian hero. Consumer society and digital technology have demolished our linguistic spaces, shattering our foundational skillset for living virtuously and politically. As we move forward, it is essential to recognize the power of language and its historical significance in promoting independence and political virtue.
The Destruction of Language in Politics and Public Life
Language has been eradicated from public life, and politics has surrendered its own linguistic and constitutive domain to marketisation, consumerism, and digitalisation. Political marketing experts insert signs and slogans into our brains, hurting our political culture. Politicians no longer speak to us as participants in a collective learning process, but as consumers. Tweets represent the breakdown of semantic richness and continuity, leaving a digital wasteland in their wake.
As a result, politics has lost its authenticity, intimacy, and inner truth, leaving behind a crisis of the republic and political trust. Millions of citizens exit the democratic process every decade, as the polis has moved behind a wall of glass. Twenty-first-century conservatism must renew its self-understanding against this crisis and protect our linguistic spaces.
Language is our deepest source of subjectivity, virtue, and truth. It is sensitivity, drama, a heroic act in itself. While it is impossible to resist modernity’s constitutive processes, such as technological advancement and capitalism, it is the citizen’s duty to protect the sphere where we can choose how to relate to a world run amok. We must find a way in, rather than be swept away by the tempest.
Conclusion
In conclusion, language has been destroyed in politics and public life. Political marketing experts and technology have erased linguistic spaces and replaced them with digital wastelands. Politics has lost its authenticity and inner truth, leading to a crisis of the republic and political trust. However, citizens have a duty to protect the sphere where we can choose how to relate to the world and find our way in the tempest of modernity. We must protect our linguistic spaces and renew our self-understanding to combat this crisis.
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