So what is in a word?
It seems that the word special is no longer sufficient to describe the relationship between the UK and the US. Today it has become special AND essential.
Reach for a dictionary and you will find a rich description for the word ‘special’.
‘Distinguished from others of the same category, especially because in some way superior’
‘Designed, undertaken, or used for a particular purpose’
‘Specific’
‘Held in particular esteem’.
Perhaps the clue behind the need to embellish this word with another is in the final of these four definitions.
Last year there didn’t appear to be a lot of esteem between Barack Obama and the UK when he deliberately named BP as British Petroleum during the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.
He was quick to humiliate BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward when he commanded him to attend a meeting at the White House.
However, the relationship was not so special when the boss of American company Kraft, Irene Rosenfeld, refused to attend a hearing of the British parliament’s Business, Innovation and Skills select committee. They were concerned about the potential loss of jobs that were expected as Kraft completed its hostile takeover of Cadbury’s.
These incidents cause the British media in particular to question the ‘special’ nature of the relationship between the two countries. Perhaps the definition above should read ‘held in particular mutual esteem’.
Whatever the reason, it has caused the two leaders to re-define the relationship as special AND essential.
The dictionary is a little more ambiguous about the word essential.
‘Of or being (an) essence; inherent’
‘Indispensable or fundamental’
‘Of the utmost importance, basic, necessary’.
The final of these three definitions gives the feeling that this is a level of panic, even ‘backs to the wall’.
Perhaps that panic is implicit in the current economic woes of both countries as China, Asia and even Africa thrive. Or could it be that the these two politicians now realise that they have walked into a trap called the ‘Arab Spring’ which is exposing the duplicitous nature of past and present foreign policies.
Whatever the case, the people of the two countries quietly get on with a relationship that has always been close; not because the politicians tell us it is so but because of everyday contact, friendships and mutual interests.
Meanwhile, it is fascinating to watch the politicians dig themselves into every deeper holes through their use of weasel words.
The moral of the story? Your actions will always speak louder than your words.
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