Language Responsibly

I have been terrified lately. The thought of being vulnerable – of sharing in a public space, like this blog, has made me second guess my work. I'm excited to be venturing back into this medium.


I was reading this afternoon about fear and darkness. Why is it that when in a space where our eyes have not quite adjusted, we start to use our other senses: smelling, touch, hearing to create (fill in the blanks) of the world around us. Why is it usually that, that world around us is populated with potential pitfalls? Why not potential opportunities?

I suppose as a great poet once reminded us:

We die.
That may be
the meaning of life.

yet she goes on, in the same poem, to remind us how we shape our existence:

But we do language.
That may be
the measure of our lives.

Tonight is the first of our US presidential debates. Let's hope that both of the candidates chose their words well: words that will lead to actions which reflect the American people, words that will celebrate our civic responsibilities and words that will provide for our general welfare.