The beauty of parallels

The two red lines are both straight and parallel to each other. That the lines look as if they were bent is a result of the lined pattern in the background that creates a false impression of depth.


In the natural world, seemingly disjunct or opposing forces such as dark and light, female and male, low and high are interconnected and interdependent. They are complementary opposites within a greater whole, move in tandem and maintain a parallel relationship. Whenever one quality reaches its peak it will naturally begin to transform into the opposite quality.

The Roman statesman, philosopher and mathematician, Boethius (480-524 A.D.) explained that the soul and the body are subject to the same laws of proportion that govern music and the cosmos itself. We are happiest when we conform to these laws because "we love similarity, but hate and resent dissimilarity". (De Institutione Musica, 1,1. from Umberto Eco, Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages. p. 31).


Harry Reid recently got into trouble because of his choice of words. A NYT article reports that the Senator from Nevada encouraged B. Obama to run for president because Reid “believed the country would accept Mr. Obama, whose father was black and mother was white.” Surely, we are used not only to politicians who make incoherent statements and maybe bend the truth but also to journalists who add injury to insult. In an ideal world, both good politics and a good sentence require a balance. Unlike before and after a political campaign, however, in a sentence the words before and after and must carry the same "weight" and be congruent. Thus, Mr. Reid endorsed Mr. Obama, whose father was black and whose mother was white.

The NYT reporter continues to compare Mr. Reid’s lapse with Trent Lott’s politically incorrect remarks of 2002. According to the NYT, “In contrast to Mr. Reid’s endorsement of a black candidate, Mr. Lott appeared to endorse the long-past segregationist candidacy of Strom Thurmond” (1/10/10). Because one part of a sentence can be balanced only by another one of the same kind, it is stylistically faulty to compare Mr. Reid’s endorsement (a noun phrase) to Mr. Lott who appeared to endorse (a verb phrase) somebody else. Just like so often in politics, this statement starts out one way and then switches tactics midstream. Someone's endorsement is compared to someone else. Yet, unlike politics grammar asks for consistency and hence the well-balanced information that while Mr. Reid endorsed a black candidate, Mr. Lott appeared to endorse the long-past segregationist candidacy of Strom Thurmond. In contrast to the two senators, the two parts of this sentence move in tandem, although their content is still quite startling. One wonders not only how even somebody like Trent Lott can endorse a “the long-past segregationist candidacy” but also why anybody would want to endorse something “long-past” in the first place. What is “long-past” anyway?

The time of segregation is indeed long past, yet Mike Huckabee seems as eager to play the race card as Harry Reid wishes to drop it. Referring to Marco Rubio, Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Huckabee says that “his race has become a real classical encounter between whether the party is going to be a let’s-be-all-things-to-all-people party or whether we’re going to be a principled conservative party that espouses things out of genuine conviction.” Whether you like it or not, whether is a conjunction indicating a choice and is followed by or. Therefore, the question (or choice) is whether the party is going to be a let’s-be-all-things-to-all-people party or a principled conservative party that espouses things out of genuine conviction. Whether or not this is in any way connected to a candidate’s race is a completely different question.

Examples of parallelism errors from Grammatically Correct by Anne Stilman and how to fix them:

He had always preferred talking to listening, and to give rather than to take advice.
He had always preferred talking to listening, and to give rather than to take advice.
(The list now consists of four gerunds instead of a mix of gerunds and infinitives)

The lecture was long, a bore and uninspiring.
The lecture was long, boring and uninspiring. (Adjective – Adjective – Adjective)

She told him to get to the hotel by six o’clock, that he should check with the concierge for messages, leave his luggage at the front desk and to wait for her in the lobby.
She told him to get to the hotel by six o’clock, (to) check with the concierge for messages, (to) leave his luggage at the front desk and (to) wait for her in the lobby. (The same wording – here an infinitive – must be used for each element in a list. The word to can be used either before each element or only before the first.)

The consultant objected to the proposal because the costs would be too high and that the training facilities were insufficient.
The consultant objected to the proposal because the costs were too high and the training facilities insufficient.


Parallel structure with paired conjunctions (either … or, not only … but also, both … and, whether … or, as … as):

Customers may either pick up the merchandise themselves, or the company will deliver it for a small fee. (The placement of either suggests that the customer has a choice, but then the sentence switches to a different subject, the company.)
Customers may either pick up the merchandise themselves or have it delivered for a small fee.