12/8/06

Autumn’s eve thoughts on words

By Herb Kandel

Tri-O's Oddities, observations, and opinions
Autumn’s eve thoughts on words
Three Little Big Words
On a Public Broadcast Service web site called P.O.V. (Point of View) they posed the question “How would you describe America in three words?” to people both here and from around the globe. There was no claim to scientific accuracy in the survey. The answers were somewhat surprising, reassuring, and in several, disturbing. Similar to looking into a mirror then seeing that zit on your cheek was more prominent than you thought, but on the other hand you're having a good hair day. Here are the top 10 of what that particular mirror reflected in describing America - #10 Proud #9 Materialistic #8 (tie) Independent/Naïve #7 Powerful #6 Opportunity #5 Greedy #4 Arrogant #3 Diverse #2 Freedom (combined with Free) and at #1 (bugle sound ….. ta-dah) Ignorant. So it looks like we, as a nation, are envisioned as a bunch of unaware dummies of assorted ethnicities who seek more “stuff” and flaunt our possessions because we have the power, chance and freedom to do so.
There is probably a smattering of truth in the descriptions as there is in any stereotyping but it seems that the overall concept has a suspicious tinge of envy with too loud a protest. If we are as appalling as 4 of the indicators portray us to be, why are so many seeking entry here? Is it because of the other 6, with freedom and opportunity in the forefront? I daresay “You got it.“
Had they asked me for my three words I would have suggested trustworthy, compassionate, and honorable. The Yiddish word “mensch”, that has migrated into everyday speech, encapsulates those, and similar type virtues. According to Leo Rosten, author of The Joys of Yiddish “[A] mensch is a someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. The key to being "a real mensch" is nothing less than character, rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsible, decorous.”
What would your three words be? Think about it and send me your choices with “3 words“ in the subject field*. The results will be tallied and reported..
World word replication?
In line with world perception of the U.S., The Guardian in the UK did a survey of 10 countries. One question asked was “Overall do you have a favourable [sic] or unfavourable [sic] opinion of Americans?” Favorable with 81% was Israel, 74% Japan, 73% Canada---- the bottom three who considered us unfavorably were Mexico 43%, Spain 32%, and South Korea 30%. To the question “By its actions, does the United States contribute to world peace?” The top three with a “Yes” were Mexico 63%, Israel 61%, Russia 48%---- the “No”’s were Japan 53%, Canada 52%, and South Korea 49%
Those statistics cause me to scratch my head. Some countries see us favorably and at the same time say that we do not contribute to world peace. That is about as divisive as was the campaign ads in the last election. Are they saying our intentions are noble but our means in achieving them is perverse? Or are these findings just an echoing of what we are experiencing here in the U.S., i.e., difference of opinions which led to the turnover of the congressional leadership? As in the song “We are the world , we are the people” conversely “We are the people, we are the world”. Therefore what the administration and its adversaries are pondering is the equivalent of what other countries are troubled about also. So it seems that how the world perceives us is the extrapolation of what we ourselves are experiencing here.
Redundant Words
Sometimes my hearing “envisions” speech as if it was monitoring an oscilloscope. There are familiar patterns that go along in normal sequences and then up pops a blip. Several months ago I vented about how the word “like” has insidiously burrowed its way into the vocabularies of teen-angers and celebrities. Every time the word is used the glitch spikes. It was mentioned then that the consistent use of the word renders the conversation trite, and downright boring.
Now my blips are occurring with more frequency and I seem to see the sheep are in the herding process again with a new word.. Have you noticed (heard) how “really” comes into speech patterns more and more ? If you listen you will hear “It really is” and it's counterparts making more inroads into everyday language. It is as if you have to insert “really” into a statement to give it an endorsement or an affirmation that what is said is verifiable and without question accurate. I recall the admonition to take as less than gospel anything that follows “To tell you the truth……….” .
So, like, remember your hearing it here, like, on the cutting edge. You really are!
* hekan@mail.com
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