Look at all we have learned and the highfalutin words and phrases we all use; words we’ve learned simply by watching inane T.V. programs:
- Anal Retentive: Ever since world renowned psychologist Dr. Frasier Crane entered Sam Malone’s bar before spinning-off on his own we all began using the term. But who doesn’t react to conflict by vigorously dusting the furniture or waxing the car…again?
- OCD: A real thing that we non-professionals now use to classify any seemingly repetitive behavior. Yes, I must knock three times and wash my hands incessantly and finish every sentence even when it is not necessary. That is just proper etiquette and good hygiene.
- Schrödinger’s Cat: An illustration of a paradox taught to us by the Leonard Hofstetter and Sheldon Cooper, nerdy geniuses from The Big Bang Theory. If you put a cat in a box with something that can kill it, until you open the box the cat is both alive and dead, an impossibility, thus the paradox. I got news for Dr. Schrödinger, his cat is dead. No paradox.
- On the Spectrum: Asperger’s, Autism, Developmentally Challenged. There are multiple shows but I’ll tag “The Good Doctor” for one example. While understanding and accepting other’s struggles is a positive step in our quest to become actual caring human beings, it has also become a new standard for judging others. “He must be on the spectrum” when actually he is simply a self-absorbed jerk.
This one is more of a pronunciation concern but still has its origins in Television:
- Homage: We used to pay Homage to someone (sounded out with a hard H). We are now apparently all of European descent, (not all of us, only those who identify as pompous twits) using the French pronunciation when saying the word; drawing it out, loving the sound of their own dulcet tones, “Ohmagggge!”
We live in a time where pomposity abounds and ignorant imbeciles are celebrated for their…who knows what? Present company excepted, of course!