Speaking Truth to Power

I've written a lot of reviews and critiques. Books. Movies. Employee evaluations. Employer evaluations. Submissions to a writers' group I was in. Long ago I decided that there was no point to what I call "golf-clap" reviews. A head nod, a weak smile, a smattering of polite applause. You know, the kind of response that says that everything everyone does is good, even if it isn't.

In that vein, I posted the following review of Moby Dick, or The Whale, some years ago.

"2 stars. Not Really a Good Piece of Fiction. Having recently read Moby Dick for the first time, I am completely convinced that Hermann Melville really wanted to write a non-fiction book about great whales, but stuck in the fictional bits in order to attract a broader audience. I also do not believe that this is an American classic because it is such a well-written piece of fiction, but because it gives teachers so many things to talk about in class: changes in style, emerging attitudes about religion, narrative flashbacks, thematic consistency, and so on and on and on. Although the book starts out well, with amusing and complex characters and odd situations that expose much commentary on social norms, it unfortunately goes to sea. Once there, the lengthy and boring sections on whale anatomy, whale species, whale art, the history of whaling, whale butchering, and the inaccuracies of others who have chronicled tales of whaling completely overwhelm the fairly sketchy plot, the amusing characters, and anything resembling a reasonable story pace. Tangents on Great Lakes sailing and pretty much anything else that crossed the author's mind lead to lengthy, rambling asides that sap the reader's will to go on. Even the overarching theme of obsession (which is ably demonstrated more by the author's whale fetish than by Captain Ahab's pursuit of the white whale) is lost in the tedious bulk of non-fiction material. The author moves from narrative style to dialogue to museum cataloging to play scene style at whim and without regard for consitency or what works for the storyline. Worst of all, the ending of the book--the thin plot that most people know and use to indicate the importance of the book as the great American novel--winds up as poorly described, anticlimactic, and unsatisfying mess. While some may regard this review as harsh, I was in fact kind by giving this book two stars instead of one. Interesting perhaps to talk about, promising in parts, but an uninteresting chore to read in full. Disappointing and far from a great book."

I thought nothing more of it for years and years until a member of my writers' group pointed out that Harpers Magazine had mentioned my name in an article about the death of American newspapers, rhetorically asking who would review books after newspapers were gone, then quoting the title of my review alone derisively. I responded with an letter to the editor, which was published in part.

The point of all this isn't that Moby Dick is or isn't really a good piece of fiction or that the book itself was life-altering. But, being honest is life-altering and carries some risks. Speaking truth to power has always been my approach and it has not only made me feel that I act with some integrity, but I also hope that my reviews and critques over the years have assisted readers, movie-goers, writers, employees, employers, and others.

At my retirement party, the CEO of the company mentioned that the court jester was the most important of a king's advisors because only he dared to speak truth to power.

Go forth and dare.