In Plain Sight, Sort Of

One thing I'll tell you about getting older: it's easier to hide things from myself.

I walked into my front hall this morning after my walk, took my phone out of my pocket and set it down, took my hat off and set it down, and took my coat off and hung it up. Then I went to the kitchen and got a cup of coffee. Then I couldn't find my phone.

It wasn't anywhere. I was beginning to panic; did I drop it outside and not notice? But if so I would have surely heard it hit the sidewalk. But if I did drop it, finding the darn thing might mean retracing a lot of steps, as far as ten or so blocks from the house. Crap.

Wait a minute. I checked my time right before the front porch to make certain I had trod enough steps. So it can't be that far.

Yet it wasn't nearby outside. It must, it simply must, be in the house.

It of course was. I had sat it on the hall table and placed my hat on top of it. Maybe I do need to move things when I'm searching for stuff.

Words Have Meaning

We live by definition. Many folks will disagree with that, and it's interesting to wonder whether all they're doing is living under a different definition. It would seem so, despite the fact that, very often, they attempt to live a banner of no definition.

What purpose can that serve? For starters, all it really does it put them into the category of relativists. All kinds of fun can be had with factoid, but we'll set aside for now. There's a more ominous idea at work under the auspices of no definition. If people cannot be defined, then no human action can be called wrong as there would be no definition to fit it.

That's why so many folks now believe that marriage can be between any two people who love each other. It takes away from marriage by making the term meaningless, that is, without definition. It throws the point into the realm of love, whatever that means, as it is also a term used rather loosely these days. How many of us actually consider what love might be, or what it actually might demand of us? Very few, because it is now a term used merely to justify what we want to do and with whoever wants to do it with us.

Words mean things. At least, they're supposed to. They're the only way in which we can effectively communicate, and they can only be effective when we define them. This is hardly a new concept. The ancient Greeks insisted that we must define our terms before discussing matters; more recently, Rush Limbaugh opined that, well, words mean things. If we are truly serious about understanding other people and other cultures then we have to be able to understand what is being said by ourselves and others. If we are really serious about ending war and injustice or merely making our local community a better place, then we must admit that our words must be well defined in manners comprehensible and acceptable to all rational people.

If we do not do this, then we are simply banging a gong when we speak. Such is nothing more than a metallic din which can only drown out those who really want a better world.