How do you tell a story, you
know is a pig that will not impress your audience even if you laced it with a
ton of lipstick and state of the art mascara? What you do is dance around the subject
and hope that your fancy footwork will distract the audience from realizing it
is looking at a fabricated-for-the-occasion optical illusion.
This is what Dmitri
Solzhenitsyn did in his latest article which came under the title: “Ilhan
Omar's got a Little Competition,” published on August 5, 2020 in National
Review Online. Knowing that he must not celebrate the success –– which Ilhan
Omar seems on her way to scoring –– he portrayed what she has achieved so far
as a modest accomplishment that fell short of what was expected of her.
Note how Solzhenitsyn first
built up Omar into an awesome superhuman as if to say that a great deal was
expected of her, but that she did not deliver as much, even if she is currently
ahead of the game, and may yet score the ultimate triumph she is pursuing:
“Ilhan Omar has been described
as a 'rising star.' So she surely did not expect to face much opposition during
her reelection campaign. After all, Omar won her district's primary by 18
points en route to an easy general-election victory, and has boosted her name
recognition since then”.
This done, how did the writer
go about making his readers feel that despite her “rising star” qualities,
Ilhan Omar ought to be disliked, and that her challenger in the upcoming
Democratic primary ought to be liked if not worshiped? Well, the secret that
writers have and make use of, is called, “adjectives.” Look how Solzhenitsyn
used them in his article: “Making herself famous at the expense of diligent
policymaking now renders Omar susceptible to attacks by her rising opponent”.
Here are the adjectives that
Solzhenitsyn has used to shape the view of the readers without sounding like an
advocate: diligent, susceptible and rising. What the writer did, is stealthily
advance the talking points of her opponent by telling the readers that Omar was
elected to do diligent work on behalf of her constituents but did not deliver.
This is a deficiency, he points out; one that should diminish her and augment
her opponent.
Okay, we got the point. But
what is it that gives her opponent the right to grab her seat in the House of
Representatives? Well, that's where Solzhenitsyn has relied on his talent one
more time to do the job. Before telling his readers what a great man Anton
Melton-Meaux is, he told them how great and lovable his parents had been.
Melton-Meaux's father was a decorated Vietnam veteran, says Solzhenitsyn, and
his mother “grew up picking cotton.” As to the guy himself, he was a top
student at the university and a great athlete.
If you think this is
impressive, says Solzhenitsyn to his readers, wait till you see what
Melton-Meaux grew up to be and do. He became a lawyer, a mediator and a
Christian pastor. He volunteered to help children and prison inmates as well as
sponsor causes in education and the performing arts. And now, here comes the
ace in the hole that should placate even the most ardent worshipers of Ilhan
Omar.
To that end, Dmitri
Solzhenitsyn made the following points: If you're one of those who believes
that the Jews are annoying because they constantly whine and accuse others of
antisemitism, you must also be annoyed by Ilhan Omar's constant whining and
accusations to the effect that those she does not like, are racist and
anti-Black. Well, I have news for you, says Solzhenitsyn. It is that Omar will
be whining and accusing no more because her opponent –– get this now, is Black.
Okay, you say to yourself, now
you understand why Anton Melton-Meaux is pulling ahead of Ilhan Omar. She may
have been a rising star two years ago, but compared to the credentials of her
opponent, she does not stand a chance of winning the upcoming primary contest.
No, no, no, screams at you Dmitri Solzhenitsyn. You got it all wrong. The truth
is that despite the impressive background of Melton-Meaux, “Omar's internal
polling shows that she still leads him by a very large margin”.
And that puts someone who is
as talented as Dmitri Solzhenitsyn in a bind. It's because, you can deflate
Ilhan Omar all you want, and you can inflate Anton Melton-Meaux all you want,
but in the end, the facts on the ground will speak for themselves, and their
word will carry the day.