Coffee, Everyone?

We all probably need coffee or we’re all in peril dozing off in the face of inanity.

I was surprised I had to look up the meaning of ‘inane’ just to be sure of what Richard Mitchell meant in his foreword at “Less Than Words Can Say”. The last sentence made me drink my second cup of coffee on a mid-day:

“I am trying to stay awake.”

Previewing the chapters of his wake-up call book, two persistent facts resound. Let’s borrow his conclusion:

“The power of a language is related, therefore, to the size and subtlety of its lexicon, its bank of names and the flexibility and accuracy of its telling system, its grammar.”

Mitchell blames inanity to the poor education we get from public schools. We could all claim we were victims and deny we were culprits. Yet instead of passing the buck, we can strive to stay awake. Be responsible of our own speech and writing.

Let’s refine our vocabulary and respect grammar in saying what we mean.

Let’s help reduce the confusions this world rots of.