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Voweless in Gaza A 1000 Dreams-West Wing ficlet by Rielle

Summary:

Another international crisis being pondered by the West Wing staff brings an odd suggestion for it's solution.

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Voweless in Gaza text size: (+) : (-) Voweless in Gaza text size: (+) : (-)

Author: Rielle

PG - English - Humor - Publish date: 10-09-01 - Updated: 10-09-01 story id: 430468 

  Sam Seaborn rushed in to find all of them, slumped tiredly in every possible sitting space in Leo McGarrys office. The remains of a very late dinner were all over the poker table in the near corner. And all of them, the group now including C.J., Josh, Toby, and Donna, Margaret, Carol, Bonnie and Ginger, wore the same expressions, looking numb, shocked, and pretty much worn to the bone. And for the first time in his acquaintance with this batch of consummate players, no one was saying a word.

And Sam knew why. Theyd worked for days on the most crucial television appearance and press conference of President Bartlets political life. Theyd spent hours on the right place and the best way to set the stage for President and Mrs. Bartlet to speak publicly for the first time about his illness, only to find they had to move the setting at nearly the last minute.

They were still grieving, all of them, the sudden loss of a very special friend and constant morale booster, Mrs. Delores Landingham. And they were only a couple hours past the press conference at which President Bartlet turned everyones expectations upside down. Even Leo McGarry, who could almost always be heard in this office and halfway down the hall, if he so chose, was silent, sitting on a low backed chair in the corner while a dark-haired woman massaged his neck.

Funny, Seaborn thought, how she knows he scratches or rubs at that same spot ten, fifteen times a day. Or maybe not. They were very close, according to the talk on the Beltway. In fact, some District gossips had speculated since January that the real reason McGarry didnt make his usual appearance this year at Ben and Sallys was that his involvement with someone else had put the last nail in a mutually beneficial close friendship with a certain very influential columnist.

Ive got it! Sam announced, after catching his breath and a wink from Leos companion.

Got it? Josh Lyman reiterated. Got what besides an absurd grin all over your face that has no right to be there?

 Leo, Ive got it. Ive got President Bartlets re-election sown up, right here, right now! I cant believe no one else has thought of this in almost 60 years! Seaborn exclaimed, ignoring the Deputy Chief of Staff in favor of their boss.

McGarry excused himself from his lovely masseuse and grimaced as he turned towards Seaborn. He still said nothing, but only raised one eyebrow at the younger man. Sam knew without being told that that expression could be translated as many things, but usually as Leo saying:

Okay, youve got my attention for 30 seconds, but this had better be good. Everyone else in the room made their levels of annoyance and skepticism equally clear. Donna frowned at him, shaking her head, as Josh got up and put his back to the wall. Margaret leaned her redhead to one side and pulled her lower lip in as if to check it for her list of things Sam could possibly be enthusing about at this hour.

 Carol opened her mouth and as quickly closed it. She had never, and probably would never censure Seaborn for anything, but she looked close to doing so now. Bonnie and Ginger looked at each other for counsel and then warily at Sam, anything they had to say about his behavior or verbiage would not come out in front of the Senior Staff, and he knew it.

Sam, C.J. warned him, in a voice that was nearly shot from the press briefing that came after the press conference. if you think for one minute Im taking anything else to the Press Corps this morning, then youre crazy AND you can have my job cause I QUIT!

 No, its too soon to tell the press. First we have to get State in on this, and our people at NATO and the U.N. But believe me, everyones going to get excited about this! Its fantastic!

Well, clearly youre excited about this, Sam. Toby pointed out, without moving from the Windsor chair he was occupying in the company of a cold glass of beer. But the rest of us still have no idea what this is. So if you wouldnt mind

Oh! Sorry! Sam gave a half laugh and pulled a memo from his inside left pocket. This he glanced at and then looked around the room once more. Semitic languages. He grinned, and nodded at the group.

Im game, Sam. Jed Bartlet said, walking in from the Oval Office. He also looked tired, but almost as excited as his Deputy Communications Chief. What do the Semitic languages, Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, or Coptic, for that matter have to do with ensuring my re-election the morning after I told the Press Corps and the rest of the world I intend to run?

Everyone in the room, except for Leos companion stood up as the President entered. She was challenged in that area and therefore had what Bartlet himself had smilingly called special dispensation.

Good morning, Mr. President. McGarry turned to face the Chief Executive. I thought you were trying to rest.

Couldnt sleep. Jed Bartlet shook his head. Apparently neither could any of you. How is everyone? Im a little wired, I think is the word Zoey uses, myself.

Were fine, sir. Leo answered. And Sam, for reasons that remain unclear to me, seems to be doing better than the rest of us. Sam?

Good morning, Mr. President. Well, its something so simple, its almost elegant, almost poetic in its The Semitic languages have no vowels.

Huh? Josh, Toby and Donna chorused.

Well said. Bartlet smiled at the threesome. But in a certain sense, hes correct. Hebrew and the other Semitic languages of the Middle East, both in ancient times and in the present are commonly printed and read without any indication of vowels other than context. If you look at almost any publication  from Egypt, Saudi Arabia or Israel, youll find only words formed by groups of consonants. It is only when you go to some text books, perhaps, scriptural texts meant for ignorant westerners like us, or texts published specifically for schoolchildren, books for cantors or for visitors to mosques or synagogues that you find what I believe are referred to as vowel points.

Thats exactly my er point, sir. No pun intended. Sam nodded, smiling again. For more than fifty years, closer to sixty, now, ever since the state of Israel was established, and before that when Palestine was being resettled by Zionists and Arabs alike, misunderstandings, miscommunications and downright warfare has been the norm rather than the exception in the Middle East.

And if anything leads to that kind of trouble between nations it is failed communications. Well think about it. If you dont know what the other party is saying, if you have to guess at it by context and gamble with guessing wrong, what are the odds? How often do misunderstandings come up when we think were all using the same language? Sure, we can all puzzle out English even without vowels, but we all learn our native language by immersion. What reason would Israelis have for learning Arabic that way, or the other way around?

I think the United States, as well as her colleague nations in NATO and the United Nations could bring peace in the region a lot closer to reality. We just airlift vowels to Israel, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Libya, and anywhere else we may find a preponderance of peoples who speak and read and think in any of the Semitic languages,

 And I think that any President of the United States who took such simple, eloquent and effective steps towards building a long term peace in that part of the world would not only win the Nobel Peace Prize, hed win re-election by one of the largest mandates in the past 100 years. The Arab-Americans would have the best reason theyve had in decades to support an American President. And Jewish Americans, including my friends here present would have as good a reason to support, work for and vote for a President as theyve had since 1948. If that doesnt give us the ballgame, Mr. President. I honestly cant say what will. Hey, it worked for Yugoslavia!

Having talked himself dry, Seaborn accepted the beer Toby offered him and stood, still in the doorway to Leos office, waiting for their reactions. It took about fifteen seconds, but surprisingly enough, Toby was the first to smile, then quietly guffaw, followed by a low chuckle and a dismissive wave goodnight from Jed Bartlet as he ducked back into the Oval.

Ginger, Donna, Carol, Bonnie and Margaret next giggled musically together like a clutch of schoolgirls. C.J. laughed aloud for what Sam knew to be the first time in at least a week and turned her gaze on Josh. But an unfamiliar sound turned all their attention to the corner where Leo McGarry leaned back in his chair smiling as brightly as anyone had ever seen, even while he tried to frown in the direction of his dark haired friend. In fact, the Chief of Staff was actually laughing, but Sam was never sure if that came in response to his own attempt at relieving their tired tension with humor, or the response Josh Lyman finally made.

Yugoslavia? the Deputy Chief of Staff reiterated, while a light of comprehension unmistakably came to his eyes. Oh, yeah. Vowels to Yugoslavia. Shalom