VIGNETTES, Episode THREE
TRANSITIONS - continued…

The previous Vignettes, Episode Two, just began to scratch the surface about TRANSITIONS. This episode pries into the concepts of transitions with words as the vehicle of communication.

The study of words and their origins, etymology, is a field all its own – and assuredly has fields of study within its basic approach. In biblical translations and versions of such there are "higher" and "lower" critics. Briefly, and probably unprofessionally, different kinds of details were considered by the assorted research people. In the making up of the canon of the Bible, the authorship of a book would involve extremely minute examination. How many words were "new" or unique to this book, compared to another the author may have written. Right or wrong, some books might have been discarded because the author never used that word before – as if the author could not have picked up a new word for his vocabulary. How was the author’s grammar? What kind of expressions were used? Was the author historically accurate? How was his "style" of writing – English speaking or reading people (such as myself) would never be able to SEE such idiosyncrasies. Unfortunately for us, the nuances and such variances of Hebrew or Greek words would be nearly lost unless commentators along the way TOLD us what meanings were behind a word. Quickly, the word MEEK, is a very strong word if we unplug our culture’s concept of the word. To the Greeks, in the days the New Testament texts were being written, the word meek was used to describe war horses, EMPOWERED and READY to run but WAITING for the right command! They were under control, or meek as it was known approximately 2,000 years ago. The transition of this word today usually finds a much different concept, "Meek as Casper Milktoast!" Certainly not associated with strength.

The internet represents an even further transition in the wonder of words (communication) because the instantaneous display of entire books can be viewed for enjoyment or edification. Books relegated to dusty shelves of libraries can now be viewed with ease. Reprinted, as it were, in a new form for the researcher. Such a transitional concept is so far advanced from mere decades ago that it is nearly unbelievable to many. Beyond providing books electronically, data is transmitted from weather satellites and communication satellites (radio, telephone, and television) as they orbit the planet at an altitude of 22,223 miles (35,786 km) above the Earth. Satellites are constantly and continuously reporting everything from how much the sand dunes in Egypt have changed in 24 hours to the growth rate of wheat in Kansas. Such spies in the sky could be alarming if we had reason to be alarmed – and doubtless the military can well keep us on the alert or standby as a result of being able to do surveillance of the kind only dreamed by science fiction writers.

Today’s society of citizens is probably the most photographed (and without our awareness) than any generation before. Bytes have mysteriously replaced the silver coating on glass negatives of two centuries past; then strips of film became rolls of film which then advanced to color film. The giant steps of digital photography has been interwoven inextricably with the production and display of words as well. The process of imaging words and pictures is more easily observed when the computer processor or the internet source isn’t lightning fast – the faster processors make it look like magic.

Digital typography is all around us. Such is hardly noticed or realized to be anything unusual because we see it all the time. Billboards once covered with pasted sheets of paper are being replaced with signs resembling vertical venetian blinds that magically display as many as three different accounts. The accuracy of such displays of letters and pictures is phenomenal. The workings behind all this technology is a virtual marriage of whirling gears and digital artistry.

Because of the undisciplined financial indebtedness mentioned in Vignettes of The Wordwright, Episode Two, the kind of society produced by such casual concern for personal responsibility has created a need for security technology measures unheard of ten years ago or less. Next time you are in any kind of store, look around and you will see special devices on both sides of the entrances; special pads are on counters for verification purposes. Miniaturized cameras can be safely disguised in a display monitoring every move we make. Major stores can actually follow a suspect regardless of which or how many aisles they shop. Security procedures have replaced the store detectives once used by major stores. We must realize shoplifting alone has forced the business world to use every tactic they can develop to keep track of their inventory. Such transitions mentioned have not only shown how people adorn their bodies and exposed their undisciplined financial practices, it has developed electronic bloodhounds to track thieves once observed by store detectives.

The precise arrangement of lines, otherwise known as Bar Codes on everything from a candy bar to a garden shovel has not only enabled merchandisers to discontinue individually stamping prices on items but such optical scanning technology moves customers through checkout lanes accurately and speedier. Computerized systems can alert the cashier when more than two checks have been written against your account within a certain time frame just in case your checkbook was lost and found by a criminal. That information ought to be regarded with a breath of thanks instead of an intrusion upon our privacy.

But, now for the bad news. All such contrivances, devices, reports cost money – and we pay for it in the nickels, dimes or quarters proportionally for every item they inventory. Why should this be brought to mind? The transitions we are experiencing cannot be ignored. We are in a global community in case you haven’t noticed and our neighbor isn’t just a state or two away or on the other end of the train line from New York to Los Angeles – it is between the airway terminals of New York to Tokyo! And, one other bit of news – what about the ELEVEN MILLION illegal immigrants in our United States? (Some prefer to call them "undocumented immigrants".) The good news is, TV has shown us not only transitions but how such has affected our society and what is being done about it. But there is a price to pay.

It has been said that the only person who likes change is a baby with a dirty diaper. Transitions are inevitable, but we must take care to recognize such and learn to deal with it. A long range plan of developing stricter personal codes of ethics needs to replace the carefree abandoning of those virtues as the current trends of our casual and undisciplined society. "Church and religion" (and their pertinacious values) are being tossed aside as disposable items and our society has been obviously affected. What was good for society once cannot be disregarded without dire consequences.

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A couple quotes from PATRIOT POST, Chronicle 06-14, dated 05 April 2006, that coincide with some themes in the above comments by The Wordwright:

"More to the heart of most Americans' concerns, how can a nation fighting a war on terror NOT seal its borders?" ---Kathleen Parker

"Because we do not communicate to our immigrants, legal and illegal, that they have joined something special, some of them, understandably, get the impression they've joined not a great enterprise but a big box store. A big box store on the highway where you can get anything cheap. It's a good place. But it has
no legends, no meaning, and it imparts no spirit." ---Peggy Noonan

The ball is in our court, The Wordwright

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