Post # 19 I'm Baaaack!

Okay, so I'm not the best blogger in the world, and I've never won any prizes for my journalling efforts either.  Loads of changes kept me busy, but I'm back now.  I'm a little wet from Hurricane Irene, my dog broke my left arm, but overall things have been going okay.  I'm ready to start blogging again so look for new posts in the next day or two, in both this one and my food blog.  Take care!

Post # 18 Why Do They Hate Me?

Something is happening in our country and it bothers me a lot.  It makes my insides grow cold.  It stretches from Sarah Palin to the pastor of the church at the top of hill behind my house.  It is prevalent in the state I grew up in, and the state I now live in.  People hate me.  I don’t understand why they hate me because I’ve never done anything to them.  But they hate me just the same, and they want to remove my rights as an American citizen.  They want to take away the protections guaranteed to me by the Constitution.  They want to be able to kill me.

How come?  I’ve never done anything to these people.  They don’t know me.  They don’t know what I stand for.  They don’t know if I’m a good person or a bad person.  They want to be able to make me a non-person.  They want to be able to kill me without knowing me.  They want to be able to say that I can’t work and earn money like they can.  They want to be able to say that if someone hurts me, that person doesn’t have to be punished because I deserved to be hurt.  They want to be able to say that I can’t live in a house or neighborhood that I choose.

I read every day about elected officials who are taking away my rights.  Rights that have already been guaranteed are being revoked.  I don’t understand why they want to do this.  They really hate me.  Because I’m only one person, I can’t stop them.  I have one vote.  That’s all.  Just the one.  Pretty soon, I may not even have that if the officials who were hired to safeguard my rights have their way.  I wonder how that happens, but I can see it happening every single day.  The viciousness and passion of their hatred for me is astounding.

I have a friend who has often told me that anyone who doesn’t like me has a problem.  I’ve never really met someone who didn’t like me, except in grade school but that doesn’t count.  Now, there are many powerful people who hate me.  It’s bewildering.  All I ever did was choose someone to love they didn’t approve of.

One vote.  That’s all I get.  Unless other people help me, I will start losing every right I ever had as a U.S. citizen, and eventually I will die.  Please help because I can’t do it alone.

Post # 17 The Grammar Gestapo

When I started this blog, I really didn’t expect it to turn into a political, anti-Palin rant.  I imagined that it would just be an outlet for me to express whatever was on my mind, good or bad, in an environment that I created.  It’s just that Palin has been pissing me off recently.  There’s lots of stuff that’s got me concerned around the country, and I’ll probably be blogging about those soon.  But today, I want to talk about the way people in America speak.

A few years ago, I was working a project in South Korea, and I was talking to a friend about being gay.  He said that he always knew that I was gay, almost from the moment that he met me.  I was kind of surprised because I know lots of people who still don’t know or guess.  When I asked what gave me away, he said that it was the way I talked; that I pronounce every single syllable of every word.  I withheld my laughter since he was being serious and said, “Because I talk properly, I must be gay?”  And he replied, “Yeah!”

I once replied to a posting on a group that I used to belong to on the internet jokingly correcting someone’s use of the word “baited” instead of “bated”.  He just as jokingly responded with “Oh no!  Another member of the grammar Gestapo!”  Hence the title of this post.  I don’t go around correcting everyone, despite what my friends think.  But I do cringe every time I hear someone use conversational English incorrectly. 

Unfortunately, we are judged by many categories, and one of the quickest and hardest to shake is the way we speak.  If we speak ignorantly, we are judged to be ignorant.  If we continue to speak ignorantly, we continually reinforce that judgment.  As a writer, I will often allow my characters to speak in the vernacular to establish tone and personality.  However, the style of writing is always correct without any grammatical errors (I think) to prove that I’m intelligent and can do the job.

One really good example that I’ve been hearing a lot lately is the word “conversate.”  Did you know that it’s not a real word?  (I’ll get into “real words” in a moment.)  When two people are talking, they are having a conversation.  The physical act of talking is conversing.  Obviously, a conversation is the result of conversing.  You cannot conversate because the word doesn’t exist.

Let’s talk about how words are added to our list of “proper words”.  Take the case of “ain’t”.  Those of us who are older than 40 will remember every adult in the area telling us that “Ain’t ain’t a word!” whenever we used it.  However, through common usage, it became part of the dictionary.  Another word like that is “OK or okay”.  Nobody knows how this word originated, yet it exists in nearly every single language and is almost globally recognized as a word of acceptance.  Another way that a word will enter into common usage is through jargon.  How many computer words are now used in everyday life that at one time were the sole method of communication between techno-geeks?

Finally, I’d like to address people calling me the grammar policeman or other words and phrases to that effect.  Okay, so I correct people when I hear them saying something incorrectly.  But I’d truly appreciate it if they would do the same for me.  I would not get upset or angry.  I would not assume that they are trying to appear superior or more intelligent.  I would assume that they are trying to help me and are concerned that I not sound ignorant or stupid.  I’d probably want to discuss it, and I would certainly research it.  And I would always thank them.

Hope you all have a great day!

Post # 16 Echoes in Arizona

I grew up in Arizona, finished high school there, got my bachelor and master’s degree there.  I lived in Tucson for several months, and had often said that if I ever decided to go back to Arizona (not likely) that Tucson would be the only place I’d consider living.  This weekend’s tragedy struck too close to home, for me and for many people I know.  It resonates across the country, and indeed, the world.  The shooter is remaining silent as to his motives, but speculation runs high.  The most common theme so far is that this is the result of political rhetoric, most of it stemming from the Republican Tea Party and it’s unofficial spokes person, Sarah Palin.

If this is true, it will take a much better writer than myself to express the amount of evil this represents, and the absolute repugnance that rattles in every fiber of my soul.  I’m not pointing a finger at any one person, but at the entire system and how it has devolved from what it is supposed to be.  I’ve seen that many congressmen have been calling out for a cessation of the use of violent words and images in political discussions.

You see, we no longer live in a world where we can take very much for granted.  Particularly, we cannot take for granted our words.  Words are powerful.  Whether they are written or spoken, words carry the potential to create ideas and incite action.  Some people are very good at putting words together in a way that is almost spellbinding.  Others couldn’t make a coherent sentence with a dictionary and a flashlight.  We use our words to convince others that what we believe is correct. 

The problem is that so many people don’t understand that.  They will say the first thing that comes to their mind without thinking about it.  They will start arguments simply because someone disagrees with them, rather than considering what the other person is saying.  The will try to encourage others to believe the same things they believe, rather than allow the others to believe what they choose.

It’s time for everyone, not just those in religion and politics (or bloggers), to understand the impact of words.  Communication is the most important talent we have been given.  To use it unwisely or without thought is a crime.  It all boils down to respecting other people’s ideas and opinions.

Just sayin’ . . .