April 1, 1997
An historian looks backward. In the end, he also believes backward.
... F. W. Nietzsche
Life can be so predictable. Here are some headlines we can expect to see in the coming months:
Shakespeareans protest at Oakland School Board meeting
Marchers warn of strike; demand teachers in Elizabonics
Gingrich, Bonior shake hands, embrace on House floor
Republicans pleased; Democrats say embrace lasted too long
Jiang Zimin replaced in Beijing shakeup
New leader Gor Ba-ching calls for openness, restructuring
President signs "thought" law
Illegal to think bad thoughts about Clinton
First Lady's new book tops best-seller list
Title: It takes a Wellesly graduate to rule a Village
Stephanopoulos' "tell-all" book: shocking revelations
Clinton counts on fingers and toes
Pope declares "Super Bowl Sunday" a movable feast of church
Pontiff describes new holy day of obligation
in Papal encyclical: "Quem super bowlem"
Apple losses now exceed assets of US
CEO: Looking to Japan for help
Cold war over
Tepid war begins
Dow tops 10,000
Investors leap from windows on crash fear
Hong Kong defies Beijing, declares itself a ship
Entire city to sail out into harbor; cites international law
ACLU defends second amendment rights
ACLU board: It was mixup, new rules will prevent repeat
Three blind mice reduced to one
Two mice fail drug test after tail mutilation; PETA furious
Microsoft acquires Harvard and MIT in $6 billion package
Gates: Diversification to produce first Microsoft US president
Ross Perot makes first public post-election comments
No one listens
Veep Gore toasts with Chinese tyrants
Gore's 2000 prexy bid becomes toast
Viral rights cited in landmark AIDS case
AIDS drug delayed because of biodiversity treaty
Entire Dallas Cowboy football team suspended for bad taste
April ice storm grips midwest
Many are cold, few are frozen
Pope dies
Name withheld till next of kin notified
Mobil Baptist Church and Tostitos Presbyterian to compete
"Head to head in the biggest markets," says BBD&O chief
Microsoft said to be close to Vatican deal
Lincoln bedroom guest list revealed
Reporters demand guest list for Clinton bedroom
Mother ship hovers over Washington
We can all hope, can't we?
Trailer parks cited as most common cause of tornados
Newly-released 15-year government study conclusive
Congress outlaws mathematics; books banned
Math declared security threat; teachers could get 2*pi years
The recently announced plans in my city (Dallas) to place billboards around town bearing a single word, e.g. "Caring," "Respect," "Responsibility," "Trustworthiness," "Citizenship," "Fairness," and so on, as a "reminder of our core values" have suggested to me some benefits to this strategy that may have been overlooked. Quite apart from the moral and civic health one expects to result from this campaign, consider the potential improvement in vocabulary that might be realized among the citizenry, were one only to extend the principle a little way.
Add, for instance, "Rectitude," "Ratiocination," and "Righteousness" to the list, with their pleasing alliteration. Dazzle the driving public with "Praxeology," "Plutocracy," and "Perichoresis." Consider also the claims of the "Q" words, "Quiescence," "Quixotic," and "Quisling." Then amaze the citizenry with such sesquipedalian marvels as "Oblectation," "Bdelygmia," "Meretricious," "Thaumaturgy," "Verisimilitude," and "Hortatory." Toss in some ringers, such as, "Malefic," "Obsequiousness," "Confiscatory," "Ebriety," and "Vituperation," just to see if anyone is watching. Wind up the series with "Enucleation," "Gracilescence," and "Logodaedalian." See how easy that was? In the civic frame of mind, a more fitting adaptation of a basic impulse to public edification can hardly be imagined.
I think that has given our core values enough exercise for one day.
All contents © Copyright 1995, 1996 by Redmon Barbry ¶ 8:38 PM
