May I Have A Word?
"We're waist deep in the Big Muddy, and the big fool says to push on." -Pete Seeger
Skibidi, delulu, tradwife, work wife, mouse juggler, inspo, and broligarchy are among thousands of new English words and phrases that have been added to the Cambridge Dictionary this year.
“We only add words where we think they'll have staying power. Internet culture is changing the English language, and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the Dictionary,” said Colin McIntosh, Lexical Programme Manager at Cambridge Dictionary.
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Because I am not delulu, I’m interested in the words found in Emily Dickinson’s poetry. Words a New Englander from the middle of the 19th century might understand.
Tell all the truth but tell it slant —
Tell all the truth but tell it slant — Success in Circuit lies Too bright for our infirm Delight The Truth's superb surprise As Lightning to the Children eased With explanation kind The Truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind —
Speaking of dazzling truths, have you seen Hailee Steinfeld as Emily Dickinson on AppleTV’? “Dickinson” is an innovative series in three seasons. And it’s rare to see a poet—even one as great as Emily Dickinson—elevated in pop culture like this.
There’s playfulness in Dickinson’s poems, and the AppleTV series cleverly conveys the poet’s contrarian and free-spirited ways.
I'm Nobody! Who are you?
I'm Nobody! Who are you? Are you - Nobody - too? Then there's a pair of us! Dont tell! they'd banish us - you know! How dreary - to be - Somebody! How public - like a Frog - To tell your name - the livelong June - To an admiring Bog!
In our time of extreme vanity, we can revel in Dickinson’s wholesomeness. She defied convention and resisted the trappings of a shallow life. She dedicated herself instead to becoming a great poet.
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Gerrymandering is a weird-sounding word from the political sphere that’s in use today. It’s not as weird as skibidi, but nearly.
It is worth noting how the premise inherent in the recent Texas redistricting is that Hispanic support for Trump will remain at 2024 levels. To me, that seems like a faulty assumption in a dynamic world.
Patricia Lopez, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, recently pointed to a new Pew Research Center Poll that shows Trump’s disapproval rating among Hispanics has soared to 70%, with 51% signaling “very strong disapproval.” His job approval rating among this group has plummeted to 27%.
Mike Madrid, the longtime GOP strategist and author of The Latino Century, said, “It’s a historic collapse,” that the political establishment hasn’t quite grasped the magnitude of yet.
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Fascist erasure is another odd, but important, term in use today.
The Trump Administration sent a letter to the Smithsonian, demanding that the nation’s preeminent museum, “ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”
Who does that? People with problems. Anti-intellectual hacks and control freaks.
Professors Kimberlé Crenshaw and Jason Stanley, writing in The Guardian, put the authoritarian move into perspective.
Museums allow us to reckon with the brutality of the American legacy as well as expose our citizens to the people, institutions and strategies that charted a different course towards becoming a ‘more perfect’ union. Fascist erasures like Trump’s hide behind the claim that truthful encounters with the past inflame and divide. This instinct is the opposite of the truth.
For me, a more perfect union is unafraid of its long dark shadow and unafraid to admit wrongdoing, express regret, and make restitutions.
To willfully deny lessons from our past invites future disasters. To claim that there are no hard lessons from our past that are worth learning from further denies the American people their story, their struggle, and dignity.
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Can I share with you this excellent Pete Seeger tribute album, Long Time Passing, from Kronos Quartet?
I think this folk music continues to speak to us today, because once again we are, “Waist deep in the Big Muddy, and the big fool says to push on.”
Thanks for being here now!
