The Importance of Being Earnest (about Words)
Phronesis – one of my observations
What is the age of reason? It’s helpful to think about this concept, which of course is different from the capitalized phrase, the Age of Reason, the name for a historical period. An individual has reached the age of reason at seven years, according to historical common-law definitions, because he or she has at least a rudimentary ability to identify right and wrong through the faculty of reason, not emotion alone. This imputes a sense of responsibility for one’s actions.
But the US courts and other institutions generally seem to have different milestones—perhaps between 14 and 18 years of age, according to digital sources—for when a person generally should not be assumed to have responsibility in the same sense as an adult. Indeed, only at 18 does a person reach the age of majority, which generally imputes the rights and responsibilities of full adulthood. Those under 18 are called “minors,” and their alleged crimes can be addressed by the juvenile justice system.
I have heard broadcast commentary that suggests too much of adults’ reasoning, or judgment about right and wrong, is based on emotions, not an objective decision about what is right and wrong; indeed, some would say there is essentially no way to judge whether someone’s action is right or wrong because that distinction arises from their own internal faculties rather than any objective truth. Can people hold someone responsible—say, for a crime—just because their ideas of right and wrong differ from those of a perpetrator?
The ability to sort out such responsibility seems to be diminished in today’s society, which is marked by relativism and what is now defined as “post-truth” thinking. Post-truth was selected as the “word of the year” by the Oxford English Dictionary in 2016 because its usage skyrocketed. I have also heard a word, “emotocracy,” which resonates with me as democracy in which emotions, rather than reasoning about right and wrong and related choices, are the main driving force.
“Pandevotional” Prayer/Observation
I have created the word “pandevotional” (I think it’s new to me, at least for this intention) to describe my idea for a different kind of “devotional” book—that is, a book of spiritually informed reflections that helps readers to think through subjects, to direct their lives with more developed insight. Often, a devotional is written to span a season or a year; it may have 365 separate reflections—and Bible quotes, or some other anchors—one for each calendar day. For me, the word “pandevotional” adds two driving principles:
First, it has the same basic intention, specifically the development of phronesis or practical wisdom in this case, but the breadth and depth of this pursuit nowadays take it beyond a limited time frame or set of subjects. It recognizes that everything is connected to everything else. That’s a maxim whose origins are disputed, but it has been called “the first law of ecology”; it became beloved guidance for my life after I first read it in grad school in a book by environment-energy specialist Amory Lovins.
Second, I personally connect my pandevotional vision to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has been a force of nature on a global scale, connecting the world and countless considerations of theology, philosophy, science, politics, economics, liberal arts, and the humanities. Covid 19 has been one of history’s great “teachable moments.”
God, help us to learn from it, reflect on it, and spread the benefits of new insights!
Word’s Worth – a word I heard
Indiaspora. The first two syllables are generally pronounced as in Indianapolis. It’s the name of a US-based philanthropic organization founded by M.R. Ragaswamy. An introductory video featuring him is here. This is a consciousness-raising word (I love such words) that perhaps could gain greater prominence. Ragaswamy points out that 1% of the US population hails from India, as do 7% of US medical doctors. He counts the Indian diaspora as approximately 30 million people worldwide.
That’s the Spirit – an experience of God
I found it especially hard to go the Catholic sacrament of reconciliation this Lent. Largely due to the pandemic and the Ukraine war, as well as the violence, hatred, and manipulation in our culture, I feel I know more about my own sinfulness, human sinfulness, what is called “social sin,” and the deep impact of all of them.
And it’s easier, painfully so, to see the battle between good and evil as something sufficiently dramatic—and existential—to warrant the name, “spiritual warfare.” It’s an eternal battle, bigger than any of us, intensely internal and external. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said,
“The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either – but right through every human heart…even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained. And even in the best of all hearts, there remains…an uprooted small corner of evil.”
When I see some relationships pitting younger generations against the older, pitting the examined life against the performative life, I think of lines from Paddy Chayefsky’s brilliant script of “Network,” where Max the news director tells Diana the entertainment director:
“It’s all suddenly closer to the end than to the beginning, and death is suddenly a perceptible thing to me, with definable features…. I’m not some guy discussing male menopause on the Barbara Walters Show. I’m the man you presumably love. I live right here. I’m part of your life. I’m real. You can’t switch to another channel…. I just want you to love me, primal doubts and all. You understand that, don’t you?”
There’s a profound pause. Diana almost whispers. “I don’t know how to do that.”
Infokeeper – something from current affairs worth pondering
I won’t be surprised if a hand signal popularized on Tik-Tok in social media goes viral and adds extra empowerment to the idea of “see something, say something.” In this case, as reported by the Tennessean and other media, the signal to be seen—and, one hopes, learned soon by folks across the country—is a low-profile gesture that can be used as a silent cry for help if someone sees/experiences a threat from human trafficking or kidnaping. It worked in the recent case of a woman who successfully drew police attention when she was endangered at a gas station in Tennessee. See a video of the gesture posted on Facebook and hear more.
Question period – a question worth asking
What can we learn from the news that a revision in the 2022 Associated Press Stylebook instructs journalists to transition away from the term “gypsy moth” for a particular species of insects? According to a recent report on the website of ACES: The Society for Editing, the Entomological Society of America made an official determination—literally on the deadline when the Stylebook was set to go to press—that the species should now be called the “spongy moth.”
ACES reported on the new style mandate: “Gypsy moth is acceptable in a first reference explaining the new name until it becomes better known: spongy moths, formerly known as gypsy moths.” The Stylebook editor explained: “In general, we advise against terms that could be offensive or demeaning, and that becomes even more important as people become more alert to such issues. Sometimes terms are hard to avoid when there’s not a good replacement.”
How did the Entomological Society achieve such excellent coordination with the Associated Press? The professional group had decided that the “gypsy” reference had to go, according to a New York Post article in 2021, but only a scientific species name existed as an alternative at that time. In any event, educating the world about a new, easily remembered option was deemed important.
The Indo-Aryan ethnic group formerly known as Gypsies is now properly called “the Romani,” or “the Roma,” according to Wikipedia. “Most of the Romani people live in Europe, and diaspora populations also live in the Americas.”
Just kidding – some witty thing waiting to be used
When I traveled from Long Island to Indianapolis in the summer of 1978 for a summertime curriculum called the Pulliam Journalism Fellowship, I worked at the copy desk of The Indianapolis News, the city’s daily afternoon newspaper, now deceased. Because of events going on in the world, the term “Russ” appeared frequently in headlines. The paper reported things like “Russ Tests New Missile” or “Carter Raps Russ for Attack.” I learned that this abbreviation of Russia, which I had never seen in New York, was the acceptable reference for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR. Now, of course, Russia is referred to all the time in headlines, and I wonder if any paper uses the term “Russ.” Can you provide any references, dear readers?
In any event, I was puzzled by the usage, and I like to quip about my curiosity during my first days on the job: “Who is this guy Russ? I don’t think I like him.”
Image used above is from publicdomainpictures.com.