Discuss whether the vagueness of the following passage is appropriate to the context that is stated or implied. Pay particular attention to the underlined expressions."I believe the worth of any economic policy must be measured by the strength of its commitment to American families, the bedrock of our society. There is no instrument of hard work, savings, and job creation as effective as the family. There is no cultural institution as ennobling as family life, and there is no superior-indeed, no equal-means to rear the young, protect the weak, or attend the elderly-none. Yet past government policies betrayed families and family values. They permitted inflation to push families relentlessly into higher and higher tax brackets. And not only did the personal exemption fail to keep

Question

pace with inflation, in real dollars its actual value dropped dramatically over the last thirty years."-Radio address given by Ronald Reagan in December 1985

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The first portion of this passage strikes us as containing much that is vague, although the passage improves somewhat toward the end. "Strength of its commitment" must mean simply the fairness of the amount families are taxed, although it sounds like it might mean more; "the bedrock of our society" is a powerfully emotive phrase, but its meaning is especially vague. Perhaps the following sentence is designed to spell out that meaning, but it is not at all clear what it means either. Families may save (e.g., for the children's education), but it is not clear how families contribute to hard work or job creation. These phrases and claims, like "as ennobling as family life" in the next claim, are principally homilies and emotively charged expressions designed to produce a positive attitude about the President's view of families.
"Past government policies" is spelled out more or less clearly in the following remarks-at least one such past policy is identified; "family values" is not too vague; we are probably safe in guessing that these are simply whatever values contribute to keeping families together. (Is the President saying that past government policies have contributed to breakups of families? If not, what would follow from this claim?)
The last portion of the passage is much more precise and understandable, although "dropped dramatically" could mean nearly any decrease-one politician's dramatic drop is not necessarily another's.
As part of a political speech, this passage is probably typical in its overall degree of vagueness. Politicians-Democrats, Republicans, and others alike-would probably have a lot less to say if we held them to any high standard of precision.