Dum Dum de Dumb Down Down
When did it become fashionable to be stupid? At what point in our nation's history did a rich, complete vocabulary become a liability as opposed to an asset? Why are intellectually mediocre people in vogue? I remember back around 1999 when an aide to the Mayor of DC was forced to resign for using the word "niggardly" in conversation. Apparently, well-meaning folk, looking out for signs of bigotry, misinterpreted the meaning of the word. Not to be a niggler, here, but the racial epithet finds its dark beginnings in the romance languages' root word for "black," while the word "niggardly" finds its ancestry in the Scandanavian tongues and means "stingy" or "miserly." And as for niggler, it doesn't really know WHERE it comes from. In the DC case, even after the "niggardly" misunderstanding had been cleared up, the staffer was chastized for using a difficult word - one that could be misinterpreted.
But conflict around the use of "niggardly" is just an example and perhaps not a great one at that. After all, there IS a hair-trigger sensitivity surrounding the use of anything that might be considered a racial slur. That's not the problem I'm discussing here. The problem is not racial intolerance, which is still rampant and very much problematic. The problem is tolerance of mediocrity. If I tell you there is a plethora of examples and you aren't familiar with the word "plethora," is your inclination to look it up? Or think of me as some sort of intellectual snob?
There was a time when it was OK to raise your hand in class. There was a time when it wasn't such a bad thing to know words that other people didn't know and use them. There was a time when, if you DIDN'T know the word someone was using, you would take down the ol' Random House and give it a look-up. Look, people - it isn't as if I'm breaking bad with "triskaidekaphobia;" it isn't as if I'm breaking bad with "anaphora." It seems people have become afraid to learn - afraid to be perceived as intelligent - a fear, I might add, as ludicrous as fear of the number 13. But it's a real fear - a tangible reflection of the times. And it pervades everything we do.
Right down to the people we elect to public office.
A sunny, somewhat cooler day in Birmingham.
But conflict around the use of "niggardly" is just an example and perhaps not a great one at that. After all, there IS a hair-trigger sensitivity surrounding the use of anything that might be considered a racial slur. That's not the problem I'm discussing here. The problem is not racial intolerance, which is still rampant and very much problematic. The problem is tolerance of mediocrity. If I tell you there is a plethora of examples and you aren't familiar with the word "plethora," is your inclination to look it up? Or think of me as some sort of intellectual snob?
There was a time when it was OK to raise your hand in class. There was a time when it wasn't such a bad thing to know words that other people didn't know and use them. There was a time when, if you DIDN'T know the word someone was using, you would take down the ol' Random House and give it a look-up. Look, people - it isn't as if I'm breaking bad with "triskaidekaphobia;" it isn't as if I'm breaking bad with "anaphora." It seems people have become afraid to learn - afraid to be perceived as intelligent - a fear, I might add, as ludicrous as fear of the number 13. But it's a real fear - a tangible reflection of the times. And it pervades everything we do.
Right down to the people we elect to public office.
A sunny, somewhat cooler day in Birmingham.
posted by Hot Dish at 3:33 AM
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