"Mistakes have been made" (#85; Topic L)

One of the most interesting aspects of English, absent in Chinese or even in other western languages, is its passive voice. When one does not wish to take credit (or, more likely, to take blame), one couches one's statement in the passive voice. This was made popular by President Eisenhower. In the context of Iran-contra affairs, he famously said, repeatedly: "Mistakes have been made." Given that it takes a lot of courage to say: "I have made a mistake," one must understand and be less demanding -- after all, "Mistakes have been made" is at least a feeble admission that someone -- perhaps under the speaker's direction -- has committed some misdeeds. People in USA ridicule the Chinese phrase: saving face, but, in fact, they are, by means of the passive voice, the most enthusiastic practitioners. Thus, upon hearing the phrase "Mistakes have been made," my immediate reaction is: "Ah, you want to save face. You have made mistakes, but you are not man/woman enough to admit them; still, I thank you for giving a carefully worded statement couched in the passive voice; I understand." Not long ago, during her European visit, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was asked, repeatedly, the secret detention facilities in Europe for special "renderings." Her answer was always some variation of "Mistakes have been made." European-based media, such as The Economist, have editorialized, knowingly, some variations of "Yes, we understand." In the last few days, the media were interested in the vice-president's accidental shooting of a fellow quail-hunter over the weekend. Yesterday, the president's press secretary was asked a question: "Why Cheney couldn't just say 'I made a mistake?'" Today, the vp made a public response: "I am the guy who pulled the trigger that shot my friend." There was no mention of "I made a mistake" nor "A mistake has been made."
Posted at 2:55 pm, Wednesday, February 15, 2006