Change? Say It Like You Mean It

Change? Say It Like You Mean It

JENNIFER T. LACEY writes:

Only in America . . . do we use the word "politics" to describe the process so well: "poli" in Latin meaning "many" and "tics" meaning "bloodsucking creatures."
—Comic unknown.

"People want change."
"I have the most experience creating change out of all the candidates here."
"I know that change can come if I'm elected president."

Four Democratic candidates used the word "change" so much during the CNN debates, I could have sworn that somehow the panhandlers from State Street found a way into the election.

Change. Yep, everyone wants it, and no one is willing to make it. It takes effort. It takes concessions. It takes compromises. It takes, to paraphrase John Edwards, moving away from the "status quo." So, if we want it so bad, why is it so hard to have? I guess it's like common sense; it's just not so common.

Some words just need to have an expiration date on them. How strange it would be if we still used "courting" to discuss dating. Or "thou" and "thee." Thou going to the store, honey, would thee like anything? Sounds funny when you say it out loud, right? Why? Perhaps "thou", "thee," and "courting" are words that insinuate an amount of distance. Or authority not needed when relating. They have run their course, and now humans are finding quicker ways to express themselves. LOL. AFAIK. NSFW

I stopped using the word "resolution" years ago because I realized the word has lost impact. So I began using "committed." That's certainly a word you can't ease out of too easily, with others and your own conscience. In using the word, I found myself actually staying on course to reaching my goals.

Perhaps the candidates, with their education and vast vocabularies, could find a new word to use in the coming debates.

How about "transformation" as a start?

Jennifer T. Lacey is a graduate student in journalism from Chicago.