D had sent me a link to Lake Superior State University’s 2008 list of words/phrases they feel should be banned from our language. A small university in a smaller town on the Canadian border of Michigan, I had to wonder who in the hell they were to be making lists to begin with (oh, wait…duh…publicity stunt is publicity stunt is publicity stunt).
Unlike Dawn, I don’t agree with most of the words/phrases on the list. I find, in fact, the English language woefully inadequate to express many things, and revel in the creativity that brings to light (and to the world) a new way to express something. And I like most of the items on this list.
The one I think they really screwed the pooch (another nifty phrase, no?) on in terms of understanding its meaning and the broad-reaching impact it can have on people is, “It is what it is.”
In my world, that phrase is an instant path from upset to serenity, not a way of avoiding the reality of a situation. It’s a way for me to get out of my way or to stop twisting endlessly in the wind over something that I simply cannot change. It’s an immediate shifter from upset to peace; the alpha and omega--nothing more need be explained or considered.
There are things in my world that I can (and do) change. But when I can’t make something different, I find it infinitely helpful to whisper to myself, “It is what it is.”
I happily agree to disagree. :) One poke, though: you can't possibly like "___ is the new ____," can you? :)
Oooh, a new blog post: we write as many fill-in-the-blanks for that overused phrase as we can. I'll start. Virtual assistance is the new sliced bread. :) (Virtual assistance really is as cool as sliced bread. I would find another way to state that, though.)
I do agree with you on the "it is what it is." It's a state of being, and I'm all about being.
Posted by: Dawn Goldberg | 02/19/2008 at 11:49 AM