Hyperbole /haɪˈpɚbəli/ noun: language that describes something to be
better or worse than it really is; exaggeration.
That definition
seems pretty simple, doesn’t it? From
childhood we frequently use hyperbole, often without intending to, and without even
realizing we are doing it. Hyperbole is
used every day in advertising, both to get our attention and to make us desire
a product.
In today’s highly charged political
environment, however, hyperbole can get a person into some serious
predicaments. Whether or not a given
phrase is hyperbole seems to depend both upon whether the speaker considers the
phrase to be rhetorical or factual, and upon whether the listener believes the
phrase is intended to be exaggeration, or truth.
For example, here is a quotation
from the December 13, 2016, Orange County Register:
“COSTA MESA – An Orange Coast College teacher who told her students that
Donald Trump’s election was an “act of terrorism” has received threats and has
temporarily left the state…hundreds of people turned out at the college to
demonstrate in support of her and against her.”
Does the teacher really believe that
the election was an “act of terrorism,” or was she employing hyperbole? Do the supporting demonstrators agree that
the election was an “act of terrorism,” or do they believe the phrase was
rhetorical exaggeration? Are the people
demonstrating against her because she spoke a vicious lie, or because she is
extremely unhappy about the outcome of the election? We just don’t know.
If we stop and think about it for a
while, we can conclude that, if the election were really an act of terrorism,
it would have been the fearfully violent actions of millions of people voting
for Donald Trump. Even though the
opposition may have feared the outcome, however, the voters’ actions were
certainly not violent. Therefore, a reasonable listener would most likely
consider the phrase to be hyperbole.
A college teacher is certainly
educated enough to understand the definition of terrorism. And she certainly has learned how to use
hyperbole to get a reaction from her audience.
But, if she does not have the sensitivity to determine that the amount
of exaggeration results in an inflammatory reaction, as opposed to a positive one,
she invites an unintended consequence.
