Inside the box filled with the expected junk food, there is, traditionally, a surprise to be found.
Although given that we all know there is a surprise inside renders the surprise factor academic, but that's a hair split for another time.
One surprise I think we've all enjoyed in the process politic, of late, is the discovery of new vocabulary.
Sarah Palin, for one, offered us up "refudiate" a while back.
And Herman Cain has made "9-9-9" almost as iconic as "6-6-6" (and just as insidious, depending on who you ask).
Always willing to add two cents to any given pile of loose change, I'd like to pony up a new assembly of letters myself.
Contextan.
Defined as a word or phrase intended solely to make political points with and/or instill fear in the hearts, minds and voting preferences of that most cherished of target demos, "the American people", lifted from somewhere out of another word or phrase spoken at any other time, regardless of back story, background or...wait for it...context.
And the inspiration for the coining of this new word being none other than the Lone Star State's favorite linguist, Rick Perry.
Or, to pare it down for the masses, a word or phrase quoted out of context as in the style of the current Governor of Texas...
...a contextan.
The latest contextan being injected into the bloodstream and/or bile duct of the body politic..."Obama says that Americans are lazy".
Mr. Perry has been doing a whole lotta rilin' up the restless with that little nugget.
And if you stretch the point to the point of snapping, it must be admitted that, yes, Barack Obama did use those words.
More or less.
Give or take.
But, hell, why let ourselves be bothered with background, back story or...wait for it...context when we can just let ourselves enjoy the Cliff Notes in ten second sound byte format that Perry and other language lancers offer up?
Actually, the whole concept has potential as a family game night game of sorts.
And, as John Lennon once told us, it's easy if you try.
Of course, that's out of context, but isn't that point?
Here's a couple of examples of how our game is played.
Actual Rick Perry quote-Scouting ought to be about building character, not about sex. Period. Precious few parents enroll their boys in the Scouts to get a crash course in sexual orientation.
The contextan- Precious few parents enroll their boys in the Scouts.
Perry quote- The Obama administration is an affront to every freedom-loving American,and a threat to every private sector job in this country.
The contextan- Obama is a freedom loving American to every private sector in this country.
Perry quote- This administration in Washington that's in power now clearly believes that government is not only the answer to every need, but it's the most qualified to make the most central decisions for every American in every area.
The contextan- This administration is the answer to every need for every American in every area.
Perry quote- When you have a clearly open homosexual scout leader, the scouts are going to talk about it. And they're not there to learn about that. They're there to learn about what it means to be loyal and trustworthy and thrifty.
The contextan- When you have a clearly open homosexual scout leader, they're there to be loyal and trustworthy and thrifty.
See?
Come on and play. Give it a try.
Pish tosh, you suggest?
Ridiculous? Insulting? Even offensive?
Why?
Because it's, at best, inappropriate and, at worst, absolutely unfair to quote bend, flex, adapt and adjust someone's remarks and, in essence, take them...wait for it...out of context?
Agreed.
So let's knock that shit off.
All of us.
And, in a gesture of good will, remember that the stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of Texas.
Then again, I could do some serious damage with that big and bright business.
No comments:
Post a Comment