Henrik Ibsen first said, “A thousand words leave not the same deep impression as does a single deed.” After his death in 1906, this quote was paraphrased into what we now know as: “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Arguably, Ibsen would have pooh-poohed the referenced conclusion, because “a single deed” and “a picture” are not synonymously related.

Surely, plural pictures have vibrated worthlessness, over time. For a present example, note the KJ of July 16, page A2, photo of President Joe Biden sharing a “fist bump” with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, following Biden’s arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The caption below the photo labeled the “fist bump” as a greeting. Conflicting evidence exits.

Washington Post’s publisher, Fred Ryan, wrote that the instant fist bump was, “worse than a handshake, it was shameful.” The subject-meeting, between Biden and the Crown Prince, drew outrage from critics who believed Biden was abandoning his public disdain, for the Crown Prince’s likely approval of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S.-based journalist for the Washington Post.

Dictionaries clearly explain what actually happened, when Biden and the Crown Prince, touched each other with clenched, right hands. They united their finger-joints; touching knuckles. The Crown Prince “knuckled down,” which is defined as “applying himself to a task.” Specifically, to strengthen his county’s relationship with the United States.

Simultaneously, Biden “knuckled under,” which is defined as “accepting someone’s authority.” Specifically, to gain some Saudi Arabian filling-station inventory, to strengthen his re-election bid.

Is this picture worth a thousand gallons?

 

John Benoit

Manchester

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