The need for a sense of balance for politicians

Decent language is a sense of balance after all.

WI MUN-HEEThe author is a national team reporter of the JoongAng Ilbo. Mao Zedong visited a rural village in Sichuan Province in 1958. Watching sparrows pecking at grains, he said, “Sparrows are harmful birds.” At that time, China was hit by a great famine across the country. Since then, Chairman Mao and 14 party secretaries campaigned to eliminate the four pests — rats, flies, mosquitoes and sparrows.

The result was disastrous. As the number of sparrows decreased, the number of harmful insects increased rapidly, reducing grain yields significantly. Scholars estimate that at least 30 million people starved to death in three years by 1960. The episode shows how a political leader’s biased judgment can jeopardize the whole nation.

In the West, too, a sense of balance is emphasized as a key virtue of politicians. German sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920) theorized ethical norms exclusively for politics. He said that politics should only be done by full-time politicians. When he gave a lecture on “Politics as a Vocation” in Munich in 1919, the German sociologist named three qualities for a politician: passion, a feeling of responsibility, and a sense of proportion.

Weber, among others, cited a sense of proportion as a “decisive psychological trait of politicians.” The sense of proportion he mentioned refers to politicians “trying to distance themselves from things and people,” which is the same as a sense of balance. Believe it or not, Korean lawmakers also have the self-reflection that “our party members have strong passion and a sense of responsibility, but lack a sense of proportion.”

If one more trait should be added to the sense of balance, it is “decent and correct language.” Politics is all about language, and politicians are the speakers. Though politicians have nothing but speech, they can make changes in their speech.

The Democratic Party’s innovation committee head Kim Eun-kyung visited the Korea Senior Citizens Association (KSCA) on Aug. 3 and apologized for her derogatory remark toward the elderly. Citing her conversation with her son, she made a comment that justified “giving voting rights in proportion to the remaining length of voters’ life.” KSCA Chairman Kim Ho-il said, “I cannot hit her so I will slap her photo on the face,” which he actually did.

Good words lead to good politics and rough words lead to rough politics. Decent language is a sense of balance after all.