Clichés

I love a cliché. Especially an old one.

I know.  I know.  Not a good thing.  Overused. Poor style.  Puts the reader’s brain to sleep…

But I can’t help myself. It’s an acquired taste. Clichés are like junk food.  Nobody can eat just one.  I fear my affection for them may be a sign of dementia.  But at least I understand what people are saying when they use them.

Every year new words enter the lexicon and old words take on new meanings.  As they do, I find that I have no idea what people are talking about.  I have come to believe that gibberish and not English is my native tongue.  The digital age has added new expressions and hundreds of acronyms and emojis.  I am constantly in need of a translator.  And the political jargon seems downright dangerous: liberal, left, right, elites, woke, cancel culture, gaslighting, Karen…  These seem like loaded words spoken by people carrying actual guns. There is no live and let live in this crowd.  As opposed to the old clichés that reflect our common understandings, this new terminology seems filled with accusations meant to demean, humiliate, and sow division.  There are people who really will throw you under the bus if you misspeak or suggest even minor disagreement.  They are so high on hate, I’m not sure they really know what they are talking about either. All is not groovy.  More personally, I am feeling really bad for my lovely friend whose name is Karen.

Sure, I may be boring and unoriginal. I confess to being worn out and losing my edge.  Perhaps I seem lazy, and weak brained, but at the end of the day, no harm done.  I can live with that.  

I may no longer be as sharp as a tack, but I am sticking to my guns and circling the wagons.  When I get to heaven I expect to be dead on arrival, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.  In the meantime, I like being on common ground with my neighbors and taking the path of least resistance.
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You know what I mean.
    

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