Posted by
Bob Siegel on Saturday, August 29, 2009 1:46:58 AM
For previous pieces in this series, see:
Words And Phrases That Should Be Peranently Retired: Part One
Words And Phrases That Should Be Peranently Retired: Part Two
Words And Phrases That Should Be Peranently Retired: Part Three
And finally, two more words and phrases to retire:
5) Bi-Partisanship
Being partisan, simply means that you are partial to a certain point of view or political party that you believe in. How else would you have it? Should we, instead, show loyalty to the party whose values we disagree with? Oh certainly, there are some issues important enough for Democrats and Republicans to both work on. But such would assume honest agreement on a matter that puts the good of the country before the good of the party.
Unfortunately, today's definition of "bi-partisanship" is that Republicans should do things the way Democrats want them done. Not getting behind President Obama is being partisan, ununified, or unpatriotic (to name a couple of other words that should probably be retired.) Of course, when Bush was in office, Democrats lectured us about how American it is to offer healthy dissent. Speaking of the word American...Let us move on to Number 6.
6) The American People
I must admit, my emotion toward this phrase is very personal and I may be alone in despising it, but honestly, the constant usage of these three words makes me want to throw up. They sound phony and disingenuous whether they come from the lips of Democrats or Republicans. "I am taking this stand because this is what the American people want to see."
First of all, most politicians do not work for the American people. They work for their own political parties and special interest groups. For another thing, our town hall meetings are demonstrating that far too many of our trusted leaders don't have a clue what the American people really want and are not at all attuned to the heartthrob of the populace.
And so, I offered a couple of objective reasons, but I should also confess that I am just privately sick and tired of the phrase. I'll settle for anything else: "Americans" or "American citizens" or even just "citizens." How about "friends, Romans, countrymen?" But let us retire once and for all this patronizing phrase called, the American people.
Note: A few months after completing this series, I thought of another word to retire, so here is a link to one more:
Words and Phrases That Should Be Permenantly Retired Part Five
Also by Bob Siegel:
The Liberal Manifesto
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