By William Wittreich - October 2018
Hyperbole is defined as “deliberate exaggeration, not meant to be taken literally.” Not taking something literally is easier said than done, especially when the amount of hyperbole thrown at us each day can be overwhelming and all-consuming.
My maternal grandfather, Guy deFuria, was a lawyer who once served as the assistant counsel to the United States Select Committee established to investigate the activities of Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy was responsible for a political hysteria in the US in the early 1950s, stoked by his unfounded accusations of communist infiltration into the US government. In my grandfather’s cross examination of Senator McCarthy, he made he following statement.
“Sir, you appear to be addicted to hyperbole”
This statement caused quite a stir from the Senator and his defense team, for whom either the word hyperbole was new, or its meaning was unclear. But my grandfather’s accusation was correct in the Senator McCarthy constantly covered his lack of substance and facts with inflated rhetoric and exaggerated statements. That was 1954, and it seems as though the use, and abuse, of hyperpole has increased in the 64 years that have passed since then.
We all do it, exaggerate to make an impression or cause an effect. The use of the term “a slippery slope” is fitting here in that the use of exaggeration, or hyperpole, to make a point seems to have become more acceptable, and “main stream” over the years. It has infiltrated all aspects of our lives, including the media, politics and social order.
A good example of this is the use of the term a “quarter million”. A quarter million is 250,000, which in many contexts is a lot of anything. If it is dollars or people, and whomever is stating that number is trying to put it in context of the US budget, or US population, then it is not such a big number. But, when presented as a “quarter million”, now the word million is introduced, and the actual number becomes inflated in stature. This is hyperbole.
How about making a statement of past dollar figures in “today’s dollars”? Events that happened decades ago, which have a monetary amount associated with them, are often represented with numbers that are increased to match the rate of inflation. This means that $100 in 1980 is now represented as $306.36 because of the 206.4% inflation. But, really, only $100 was spent, or earned, in 1980. That is a fact that is relative to that year, so it should remain in the context of that year. Inflating the number, to exaggerate its impact, is hyperbole.
Another example is wind chill factor. It is 32 degrees, but it feels like 21 degrees. Yes, it would feel like 21 if you were exposing your bare skin in a 15 mph wind. Who would do that? If it is 32 degrees and the wind is blowing, most people are bundled up and covered, so it does not feel like 21. But 21 degrees is colder, and more dramatic, so the media person presenting the weather gets more excitement out of a temperature announcement. That too is hyperbole.
Since this article is being written in the fall of 2018, there is the inevitable need to reference the current political climate in the US. Politicians have always been true artists in the use of language to motivate people, so exaggeration and inflated rhetoric are standard operating procedure. But, it seems like the current president, and the people that support him, have taken this type of speech to another level, particularly when referencing immigration. The statement that immigrants are “flooding” over the border paints a picture in people’s minds of a constant stream of people infiltrating the US. Flooding is more dramatic than “moving” or “passing”, as it is mentally related to a disaster. Also, stating that the immigrants include “hardened criminals” and “gang members” taints that group of people and scares the hell out of the American people. This is Hyperbole, with a capital “H”.
Yes, we all do it. Someone asks us a question, and we choose to amplify our answer, maybe a little, or a lot. We are looking to affect the person asking the question for our own self gratification. But, are we really better off exaggerating, rather than owning an honest answer in the context of who we are as a person? Most people will choose to portray themselves to others as more than they really are. That appears to be human nature. So, if hyperbole is “deliberate exaggeration, not meant to be taken literally”, then we need to literally discount the majority of what we hear to account for its inevitable inflation. Again, easier said than done.
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Please send comments on this article to william@wwittreich.com.