Come What May
By Ranjan Yumnam *
Breasts not bombs. Don't be shocked please; this is a slogan coined by a grassroot political movement based in California known for its dare-bare acts to attract attention to what its activists call "immoral injustices of war, its torturous prisons and obscene profits". The activists of this anti-war movement flash their fronts in the public places holding banners that scream "War is indecent". Thiers is one of the most effective slogans that has all the right ingredients: shock, irony, catchiness, brevity, glamour, moral high ground.
That's the power of a slogan well crafted, which is meaningful and evocative of a distinct imagery. Ordinary words and strings of gibberish cobbled together will not make a speech great, much less lend force to the issue that it seeks to highlight. We need a symbol, a rallying point, a thumbnail—a thumping slogan.
And more so in these times of widespread attention deficit epidemic that we live in when Paris Hilton, AFSPA, DESAM, Devita, politicians, sundry organisations, friends and family, all compete for our morsel of attention.
I said politician and this reminds me of Barack Obama. Obama is a smart PR man as much as he is a great statesman. His campaign line "Change We Can Believe In" did much more for his image and vision than did his otherwise excellent lengthy oratory. His other hallmark phrase, "Yes We Can" is a powerful affirmation of Obama's meteoric rise to the top that reminds one of his struggles and determination. "Yes We Can" has become a metaphor of the ordinary Americans' confidence to come to terms with economic recession.
If Obama is a master whizkid at linguistic sophistry, his predecessor George Bush was a walky-talky disaster. How come anyone in his right mind could have uttered this one-of-a-kind sentence: "I have strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them". Sample this: "They misunderestimated me." And this too: "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." These utterances are height of stupidity and I am tempted to say that even our worst representatives don't make a fool of themselves in this manner.
The worst policies of Bush administration further aggravated with its bad choice of signature slogans to justify them. Instead of reaching out a hand of reconciliation, his description of Iran, Iraq and North Korea as the "axis of evil" antagonised these countries and sowed distrust more than it served to bring about a solution to the civilizational clash.
'Shock and Awe' is another unfortunate nomenclature of a warfare strategy popularized by Bush during invasion of Iraq. To me, it reeks of the hated American hubris and it should have never been used especially when you are trying to win the hearts and minds of a hostile people.
One of my favourite political slogans comes incidentally from another American President: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" by John F Kennedy. Like a sweet musical note, this sentence soothes you with its rhythmic alliteration.
"Workers of the world, unite!" comes second in my list for its sheer forcefulness of the convictions and ideology behind it.
Yes, convictions do matter and a slogan should sound, feel, express and hint at a conviction that strikes a chord with the times in which it is coined. A slogan like "Save Sharmila" or "Repeal AFSPA" are not good enough and they don't register in our minds as the perfect expression of our times. These local catchwords are associated with highly political and seemingly partisan issues and are not therefore unifying idioms. A slogan for our times should be generic that captures our angst, frustrations, aspirations, and hope, and most important, it should be acceptable to every Manipuri man and woman irrespective of class, caste and creed.
What slogan would fulfill all these conditions?
Recently, a special friend of mine got me to listen to a song from Moulin Rouge and I felt this was it. The title of the score was Come What May and Baz Luhrmann, its creator, seems to have put his every soul into the song. It's intoxicating, liberating and empowering. Listening to its lyrics, you can look at the obstacles in their eyes for the first time. And you think you already won.
"And there's no mountain too high, no river too wide...As in Moulin Rouge, where the main protagonists are locked in a hopeless love, the general state of our daily lives is one of beyond redemption and repair. Our optimism has gone down the drain and cynicism is the order of the day. Our refrain is that the system is the culprit and our mantra: Yaana yaanaba chatlo (compromise and move on).
Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide...
Come what may, come what may".
To revive our sick system, we need a powerful metaphor that will stick in our minds like steel to magnet. Alright, there are obstacles galore of varying degrees for everyone at every turn. Yet, we must overcome them, come what may. We need to break free from our secure cocoons and take a measured risk, come what may. We need boldness. Because there will always be an obstacle ahead. Come what may, lets fight it.
The Come What May movement has to start from the top and percolate down to the bottom. If this were an ad, it would have read: Wanted—Come What May Leaders. Anyone?
*** E-mail may be quoted by name in Ranjan Yumnam's readers section, in a future article, or elsewhere unless the writer stipulates otherwise.
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* Ranjan Yumnam, presently an MCS probationer, is a frequent contributor to e-pao.net. He can be contacted at ranjanyumnam(at)gmail(dot)com. This article was webcasted on July 18, 2009.
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