“What occupied your thoughts this morning? Were you focused on yourself, family or friends, local matters associated with the places you inhabit or visit during a typical day, or were you focused on matters distant, matters that for your personal well-being don’t really matter, that is, that don’t really have an immediacy in your life? Were you concerned about that which is peripheral?”
“?”
“I was thinking of the role of innuendo in our lives. How can I best describe it? Tabloid headlines, for example. You see them in the checkout line at the grocery store; they have a typical lead-in whose promise is belied by the actual story. They thrive on our addiction to innuendo. I suppose what concerns me is that so much of the news is truly just innuendo. Pundit shows thrive on the stuff of innuendo. Those who name-call live by innuendo.
“Derived from the Latin for ‘nod,’ innuendo has come to mean an ‘indiscreet suggestion,’ or in the terms of Merriam-Webster, ‘a veiled or equivocal reflection on character or reputation,’ an insinuation. With the power of the all forms of media, innuendo has increased the power of gossip by an order of magnitude (in fact, an immeasurable amount, not just a thousand times). Innuendo pervades society, brings down the mighty and famous, and especially affects political leaders.
“I was thinking that I should start a newspaper called The Innuendo, but then, I wouldn’t establish anything new. We can’t blame Gutenberg, but he made widespread innuendo possible. George Washington suffered from innuendo in the press; Thomas Jefferson, too. Why? It’s an easy thing to do. Innuendo is a ‘nod.’ Nods are easy, just a wink or a slight dip of the head can destroy a life while occupying the thoughts of many. As I asked earlier, what occupied your thoughts this morning? Was it something in the news that centered not on irrefutable fact, but rather on innuendo? Did it occur to you that by focusing your thoughts on innuendo, you are doing Nod’s Will?”
“?”
“I was thinking of the role of innuendo in our lives. How can I best describe it? Tabloid headlines, for example. You see them in the checkout line at the grocery store; they have a typical lead-in whose promise is belied by the actual story. They thrive on our addiction to innuendo. I suppose what concerns me is that so much of the news is truly just innuendo. Pundit shows thrive on the stuff of innuendo. Those who name-call live by innuendo.
“Derived from the Latin for ‘nod,’ innuendo has come to mean an ‘indiscreet suggestion,’ or in the terms of Merriam-Webster, ‘a veiled or equivocal reflection on character or reputation,’ an insinuation. With the power of the all forms of media, innuendo has increased the power of gossip by an order of magnitude (in fact, an immeasurable amount, not just a thousand times). Innuendo pervades society, brings down the mighty and famous, and especially affects political leaders.
“I was thinking that I should start a newspaper called The Innuendo, but then, I wouldn’t establish anything new. We can’t blame Gutenberg, but he made widespread innuendo possible. George Washington suffered from innuendo in the press; Thomas Jefferson, too. Why? It’s an easy thing to do. Innuendo is a ‘nod.’ Nods are easy, just a wink or a slight dip of the head can destroy a life while occupying the thoughts of many. As I asked earlier, what occupied your thoughts this morning? Was it something in the news that centered not on irrefutable fact, but rather on innuendo? Did it occur to you that by focusing your thoughts on innuendo, you are doing Nod’s Will?”
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