I don’t like to get too political on this blog. I used to, but now I use this blog as a sort of “politics free” zone. I didn’t really want any harping, or argumentation, or anything like that. I just wanted it to be around for fun.
The reason I mention all that is because some people might view my statement as a political jab, or something like that. Rest assured, it is not. I’ve got a degree in English, so the language is close to my heart. To see is misused, abused, mangled, or its rules disregarded breaks my heart.
I can’t wait until we have a president that is a natural orator.
The art of using the spoken word to convey emotion has been lost to many people in this country. Where Thomas Jefferson said, “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle” we have current politicos railing against the “librul media”. Case in point, consider any number of “Bushisms” that I shall refrain from highlighting here.
But it’s not just Bush. It’s the whole damn leadership of our nation, left, right, and middle. Not a damn one of them gives a whit about linguistic aptitude. The low-brow zinger has replaced the tradition of speaking eloquently.
The worst of the bunch are political talk show hosts, radio commentators, and talking heads. They proliferate the dumbening of this country at an exponential level. With their limited (though overused) knowledge of latin maxims and regurgitated buzzwords, you can’t listen for more than a few minutes without hearing the same idea tautologized three different ways. I imagine that for every minute they spew their insipid musings, entire states’ standardized test scores plummet. I say they are the worst because they get paid to speak for a living, and they could more closely be compared to monkeys flinging poo.
Finally, I’m really tired of analogies. I can’t stand it when an analogy is used to explain a political issue. It denigrates the intelligence of everyone involved, and it belittles the importance of the issue. Speak your mind, recite the facts, then let people figure it out and decide. Stop with the bullshit analogies.
Please, please let our next president, douchebag or dark horse, know how to use the language efficiently, eloquently, and with zest.
