Comparison:
‘It’s never like flipping a light switch. It’s always a process,’ he says.
Antony Blinken uses “never“ to put an emphatic negation on the standard stealth simile of flipping a light switch. A diplomat who knows negotiations over difficult, challenging, or impossible international disputes or conflicts pose no chance of immediate visible results, Blinken thereby uses the non-available light switch comparison. His simile selection signals that post-Oct. 07 2023 between allies America and Israel held little promise of immediate, detectable, acceptable results. For more on negated comparisons, see Chapter 3 for deeper details.
Context:
In the end, [Anthony] Blinken left [Fall 2023 negotiations in the Middle East] with a sense the U.S. had accomplished something solid. ‘It’s never like flipping a light switch. It’s always a process,’ he says. ‘And there’s always a little bit of a lag between being there and seeing the actual realization.’
Citation:
Bergengruen, Vera. “Can America Lead?” Time, 22 Jan. 2024, p. 54.
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