Shirley Sherrod’s recent frenetic rollercoaster ride is only a “teachable moment” if people are really willing to learn. By all accounts, this wonderful lady was first, thrown under the proverbial bus, then scooped from the pavement and ceremoniously dusted off, all because something she said was taken out of context.
Context, by definition, includes surrounding words, related circumstances, and vital background information. To ignore these while quoting a few words arranged in apparent order is to move from context to pretext. The words cease to mean what the person has really said, but instead are manipulated to other ends.
Sadly, people do this all the time. It is part of the relationship dynamic—micro and macro. As a clergyman, one of the things I deal with often is the theological question accompanied by a Biblical quote taken out of context. I usually remind the inquirer about the importance of looking at words—particularly in scripture—through the lens of history and grammar (the historical/grammatical method of Biblical interpretation). Otherwise, words become mere weapons.
That’s how we get propaganda.
It’s the kind of thing historian Lauro Martines wrote about in Fire in the City—Savonarola and the Struggle for the Soul of Renaissance Florence. He suggested that ignoring context runs the risk of turning people “into monsters, whom we can then denounce for our own (frequently political) motives—an insidious game.” He added, “Censure of this sort is the work of petty moralists and propagandists, not historians.”
Of course, historians have the luxury, not to mention responsibility to take their time with a subject—not so, with journalists in the age of videos and blogs.
Anyone reading or watching the entirety of Shirley Sherrod’s remarks, delivered this past March, would have clearly understood what she was trying to say. She was describing how she learned some vital things that have helped her in life and work. It’s actually a wonderful story.
Winston Churchill had a saying, “I enjoy learning, but I have never liked being taught.” Sherrod’s remarks remind us that “teachable moments” are usually not born of a lecture, but rather happen when a light comes on in the heart.
But back to context—such things do happen all too often. There is a rush to judgment followed by tortured explanation, apology, and creative distancing. Fortunately for Shirley Sherrod—and all of us—the truth came out pretty quickly.
What happens when the real context doesn’t come out—and is eventually buried among the ruins of history?