{"id":48,"date":"2009-12-30T22:48:31","date_gmt":"2009-12-31T06:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lisabravermoss.wordpress.com\/?p=48"},"modified":"2022-06-10T17:12:12","modified_gmt":"2022-06-10T17:12:12","slug":"with-odd-catch-phrases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lisabravermoss.com\/with-odd-catch-phrases\/","title":{"rendered":"Odd Catch Phrases"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keep it simple.\u00a0 Let it begin with me.\u00a0\u00a0 Progress, not perfection.\u00a0 Love, learn and grow<\/em>.\u00a0 Now these are mottoes that make for a better life.<\/p>\n

But not every catch phrase inspires.\u00a0 Some make me wince, others crack me up, and lots leave me scratching my head.<\/p>\n

Teach Tolerance<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 So gays and members of other minority groups are to be tolerated<\/em>?\u00a0 How magnanimous.\u00a0 What about teaching respect, compassion, humility?\u00a0 Clearly that\u2019s the intent here, but it\u2019s hard to imagine a slogan more condescending or more self-congratulatory in fewer words.<\/p>\n

The disease of alcoholism<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 While there\u2019s no denying that alcoholism is a crippling, even life-threatening affliction, I don\u2019t think this phrase is effective in educating people.\u00a0 It\u2019s too facile, too easy to shoot down.\u00a0 Of course, the public\u2014and health insurance companies\u2014need to recognize addiction as a serious medical condition rather than a moral failing.\u00a0 But I think insistence on the word \u201cdisease\u201d backfires, undermining the credibility of the message.<\/p>\n

We used to refer to the \u201ccompulsive\u201d drinker; expressed clinically, wouldn\u2019t alcoholism be a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder?\u00a0 I think the OCD label has a lot to offer in our understanding of this baffling and complex condition, since many alcoholics and addicts demonstrate obsessive thinking leading to ever-more dangerous compulsive behavior.<\/p>\n

Pro-Choice<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 A lot has been written about the blatant inconsistency of so-called \u201cpro-lifers\u201d who support the death penalty and oppose government assistance for low-income mothers opting to keep their babies.\u00a0 But the truth is, I\u2019ve never liked the language of my side, either.<\/p>\n

For one thing, the word \u201cchoice\u201d seems glib, as if one is faced with a decision between a summer job and a trek through Europe.\u00a0 It also doesn\u2019t help that anti-gay forces have co-opted the term (as in \u201clifestyle choice\u201d).\u00a0\u00a0 Moreover, in the context of the abortion controversy, \u201cchoice\u201d is overly abstract, a weak rhetorical counterpart to \u201clife.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pro-woman?\u00a0 Pro-privacy?\u00a0 There has to be a better, um, choice.<\/p>\n

Hands Free\u2014It\u2019s the Law<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 Call me quirky, but I prefer driving with my hands on the steering wheel.\u00a0 Now I have to worry that I\u2019m going to get pulled over for it?<\/p>\n

Seriously, I don\u2019t even know where to start on this one.\u00a0 An anti-distraction warning that is in itself so distracting\u2014its bizarre proclamation just begging for misinterpretation\u2014that it has probably caused<\/em> accidents?\u00a0 What a weird message. \u00a0And how is it possible that the Bay Bridge authorities are the last to find out that even hands-free cell phone use should be discouraged?<\/p>\n

Viewer Discretion Advised<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 Folks, I fail to grasp how my tendency to blab or not blab secrets should affect my ability to handle TV shows with violent or sexual content.<\/p>\n

Published in Piedmont Post<\/em> September 16, 2009<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keep it simple.\u00a0 Let it begin with me.\u00a0\u00a0 Progress, not perfection.\u00a0 Love, learn and grow.\u00a0 Now these are mottoes that make for a better life. But not every catch phrase inspires.\u00a0 Some make me wince, others crack me up, and lots leave me scratching my head. Teach Tolerance.\u00a0 So gays and members of other minority…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[56,57,58,59,60],"yoast_head":"\nOdd Catch Phrases - Lisa Braver Moss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lisabravermoss.com\/with-odd-catch-phrases\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Odd Catch Phrases - Lisa Braver Moss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Keep it simple.\u00a0 Let it begin with me.\u00a0\u00a0 Progress, not perfection.\u00a0 Love, learn and grow.\u00a0 Now these are mottoes that make for a better life. 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