It's Been Said....

Clichés.....we've all heard them. It's probably safe to say we've all used them.  Dictionary.com defines cliché as:  a trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common thought or idea, that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse . So, by definition, a cliché is already something that is 'trite'? The word is right there in the definition of cliché, so I guess clichés are 'trite' by definition, right? Repetitive? Yup. Trying to make a point here. So, what is 'trite', then?  Well, Dictionary.com defines 'trite' as:  lacking in freshness or effectiveness because of constant use or excessive repetition . Kinda what the definition of cliché is trying to say, eh? Sorry....rhetorical. But, is 'new normal' a trite cliché? That is the burning question being posed in this blog post. Confused yet?  I suppose the next step might be to ask ourselves if 'new normal' fits the def...

I think we're all pretty familiar with this phrase by now. In fact, it's kind of been burned into our collective lexicon over a period of time, especially since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School back in 2012 in spite of the fact it's been a National Rifle Association talking point way before that massacre. It just had not gotten the level of attention or use then as compared to now. For every single action there is an equal and opposite reaction - a simple, but reality based law of physics. I believe the principle behind the law of physics also has application in other situations, as well......laws of 'logic' (or lack thereof) as just one example.  Logic is powerful. It's based in reasoning, in thought, in emotion. It often times involves descriptors such as 'rational' and 'irrational', 'sane' and 'insane', 'ridiculous' and 'sensible' as just a few examples. Most of these descriptors are used b...

As I'm sometimes wont to do, I've reprised, amended, and am re-publishing a blog post originally written in 2013: Would it be accurate to say we all live in little boxes? Think about that. Back in 1962, Malvina Reynolds wrote a song called "Little Boxes" . It was also used as the theme song for a Showtime TV series called Weeds. What's striking about the song is how the lyrics fit so timelessly and so well in today's collective psyche even as they did back in 1962 and, arguably, even way before that. Weeds starts out with   "Little Boxes"  playing while showing what can only be taken as business people in lock step backing their virtually identical black four door sedans out of their driveways simultaneously to go to work, all in sync, all in one direction, all of them filing out the gated community one after the other, sort of representative, as myth would have it , of lemmings on their trek to the cliff ledge high above the jagged seashore, wav...

Originally, I published a blog post back in 2012 that addressed the talking points in the title of this rather long missive. That essay followed the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The issues of gun control, gun free zones, and arming school staff were front and center topics of discussion following that massacre. All three talking points were, and still are, serious school safety issues. Since that time, there have been I don't even know how many more mass shootings both in schools and in public venues. In light of all those massacres, I felt it would be appropriate to revisit my original post and to revamp and revise it accordingly. The more I studied it, the more I realized it really needed an almost complete re-write. In that vein, here's the amended/re-written version. I hope it's better than its predecessor. With that, I offer these observations. Observation 1....Gun Control: The issue of 'gun control' perhaps shouldn't be presented as an...

Second Amendment Conundrum(s)...in the plural There are times when I wonder what's the matter with some people? Not too long after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, an OpEd was published accusing then  President Obama and Francine Wheeler of reaching a new low , as he put it. The link provided here is to an excerpt from the original OpEd, and excludes the worst of it. And, for those who may not remember, Francine Wheeler's child was one of the murder victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Unfortunately for me, I saw the original OpEd. That's all I'm going to say about that. The author had this to say about Francine Wheeler, a still grieving parent whose child was murdered along with 19 other children and 6 adults:  "You and the rest of your ilk are unfit as parents and unfit as citizens." Compassion and empathy do not appear to be the author's strong suit. And, please remember, this is a much toned down version of what he originally said. He...

An age old question I've been asked more times than I care to remember:   How do you think we can prevent more incidents like 'Columbine'?  To be brutally honest, I don't think we can. The key word in that question is "prevent". Here's the thing....even before that fateful day, April 20, 1999, these kinds of incidents happened . Mental illness, Easy access to weapons used, Mostly committed by young males, "Bullying", And the list goes on.... Sound familiar? It should because it's a common refrain especially following mass school shootings. Because mass school shootings in particular were, at one time, few and pretty far between, you'd think that we'd learn how to effectively address them. I mean, we had plenty of time in between, right? RIGHT? I mean, there were final reports voluminous with findings and recommendations that were there for the asking. All that was necessary was for someone in a position of authority to de...