c. 1996 Religion News Service

(Rabbi Rudin is the national interreligious affairs director of the American Jewish Committee.)

(RNS)-When foreign ministers, ambassadors and other diplomats express themselves in public, they often employ a special language I call”diplospeak.” Diplospeak disguises reality and deliberately makes facts obscure or ambiguous. This dense and opaque language is an exquisite art form only skilled orators can effectively use.

And only a fellow diplomat can accurately decipher such rhetoric. For the rest of us, exposure to large doses of diplospeak make our ears clog up and our eyes glaze over.

It causes me to wonder how the tortured language of diplomacy would be expressed in the Bible’s ancient cadences. Consider these examples:

The Diplomat:”There is a growing urgency to understand the need for interdependence between the world’s nations and peoples that will result in a strategic program of active engagement with one another leading to peaceful coexistence and a lessening of the chances for war. Indeed, constructive interaction is a necessary response to the prevalent sense of selfishness and unilateral actions and policies that are so common around the globe.” The Bible:”Am I my brother’s keeper? … You shall love your neighbor as yourself. … Let nation not lift up sword against nation nor learn war anymore.”

The Diplomat:”Constructive steps are imperative to bring about a fundamental change in the day-to-day situation of the group in question: a group at high risk, experiencing a diminution of its human rights. In point of fact, a comprehensive plan of action is required to achieve the explicit goal of permanently changing the discouraging facts on the ground as they directly relate to the suppressed populace. And the world community needs to fully come to terms with the fact that some sort of viable endeavor is needed at this unique juncture in history.” The Bible:”Let my people go!”

The Diplomat:”I am pleased and honored to inaugurate this exceptional enterprise that will afford all the citizens of the region an abundant supply of electricity that is so critically needed. Although it is I who will now press this button to commence the flow of power, I am reminded of the countless men and women who have contributed to this noble undertaking.” The Bible:”Let there be light! And there was light!”

The Diplomat:”We open this peace conference fully cognizant of the exigencies and variables of international relations. In the past, some of the very nations and peoples that have gathered with us today were once bitter enemies, implacable foes. These longtime animosities were a permanent part of the international order of things. But the sequence of violence has been ended, and an opportunity to build a new world order based upon mutually shared commitments is now open to us.” The Bible:”To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven … a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; … a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war and a time of peace.”

The Diplomat:”I take on this difficult task that has been given to me with both ambivalence and hesitancy. I have anguished many long hours and debated within myself whether I should accept this extraordinary challenge. A series of inner torments and doubts have nearly overwhelmed me, but after profound introspection, I am pleased to accept the assignment.” The Bible:”And I heard the voice of the Lord saying: `Whom shall I send and who will go for us?’ Then I said: `Here am I; send me.'”

The Diplomat:”We need to overcome a generational gap that appears to stymie our worthy goals. It is inappropriate public policy to pit one age group against another. We need a collective method of bringing all of the concerned population cohorts together in a sense of unity and shared commitment. We can jointly work toward the common goal only if all of us become imbued with the worthiness of our unified project.” The Bible:”And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young will see visions ….”

Foreign-service schools would do well to expose fledgling diplomats to the wisdom and eloquence of the Bible. It would be good for their souls, and it just might improve their ability to communicate.

LJB END RUDIN