The Risks of Exaggeration

by Paul Matalucci, ABC

I just finished reading a news item that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has declared a national emergency because drought has reduced the output from hydroelectic dams. What grabbed me was this statement: “It’s a true emergency,” he said.

Is there another kind?

Unfortunately there is. When leaders and public figures exaggerate for rhetorical effect, they dilute the power of words. Emergency is no longer emergency; it’s that thing you say when you want to rile people up or grab attention. Now you need to say “true emergency.”

So what happens when “true emergency” becomes what you say to rile people up or grab attention?

We’ll need to come up with another word.

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