That’s Dearth, not Death!
Not used much today—it seems there’s a dearth in the use of dearth. It just seems to me that today there is a little bit of a dearth in the use of civil discourse. In politics I guess that’s normal. But should the Republicans be tearing each other apart with the prospect looming that they will face either an avowed socialist (that would have been unheard of when I was in college) or a shameless liar about too many things.
Dearth, of course, is a synonym for lack, scarcity, shortage, want, paucity, deficiency, or just plain absence.
A few posts back, I quoted a statement by Thomas Carlyle. Perhaps you’ll remember that he was a Scottish philosopher, writer, essayist, historian, and teacher. Here’s another quote from Carlyle that I think you’ll like:
I think we need more humor at this time in the electioneering process. It seems that everyone takes everything a bit too seriously. I know it’s a serious endeavor to run for the office of President. At times the debates are almost overbearing. A sense of humor can take some of the bite off.
OK. After the shenanigans in Iowa, and the politician sounding more like politicians than like real Americans, I am more convinced than ever that we need a businessman at the head of the country, rather than more politicians.
The current grumbling about the votes or caucuses in Iowa is evidence that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Perhaps some shenanigans were pulled. But then, most of them are politicians—so what do you expect?
The Founding Fathers must have believed a democracy was the way to go, if what they gave us with the United States of America is really a democracy. No on both counts.
As a member of the National Speakers Association, I was pleased to make a personal acquaintance with Charlie “Tremendous” Jones at one of our meetings. He was a large speaking presence. During his presentation he actually picked on me!
My wife has been asking me what I want to do now that I’m retired. The other night I woke up at about 2 or 2:30 with a thought on my mind. It seemed important to me at that time in my groggy condition. So what did I do? I got out of bed, went into my office, found a scrap of paper and a pencil and wrote down my thought.
I always think it’s interesting that George Washington solemnly stated that it would be unwise to have political parties. He thought we should all be Americans and want what’s best for America. Little did he know that Americans disagreed on that score more than on the weather.