I recently saw Daniel Day Lewis in Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln.” It is a beautifully done motion picture and demonstrated how much effort was made by both Lincoln and others to pass the 13th Amendment, and how close it came to not passing.
I felt it was a bit long and that, perhaps, Spielberg tried to tell too many stories, but it was still a good representation of how the Amendment was passed. The other slight drawback was the use of language. Immediately after we saw the film, a girlfriend pointed out to me that the language was appropriate for the time, but maybe it would have been easier to follow if they’d have updated the language a little bit.
I said, “Like what? Have Lincoln say, ‘Dude, are you fucking kidding me?!’”
Of course, she gave me that look and said, “You know what I mean.”
Actually, I did have trouble with a few of the more antiquated words and phrases, but I could follow along pretty well. Still, her statement and my wisecrack started me thinking about the continuing destruction of the English language… at least here in America.
Even when Lincoln is arguing with his son, Robert (Is Joseph Gordon-Levitt in every movie out today?), about his impending enlistment in the army, both father and son were incredibly articulate.
Granted, both of these men were highly intelligent and educated; Lincoln, famously, a self-educated lawyer and Robert had attended Harvard to that point in the war.
Still, had that argument occurred today, I see it more as, “I’m quitting school and joining the army!’
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“No you’re not!”
“Nuh huh!”
“Nuh uh!”
“Nuh Huh!”
“Nuh uh!”
“Am, too!”
“Are not!”
“Too!”
“Not!”
When you look back upon the letters from The Civil War, the use of language by even Privates is so amazingly articulate compared to what is written today. Following is an excerpt from an actual Civil War letter:
I don’t know how much pleasure it affords you to go over these days of the past, but to me they will ever be remembered as days of felicity. And how happy the thought that years increase the affection & esteem we have for each other to love & be loved. May it ever be so, and may I ever be a husband worthy of your warmest affections. May I make you happy and in so doing be made happy in return. A sweet kiss and embrace to your greeting.
Today that letter would read:
I don’t know if you’re happy remembering shit from before but I am happy to. And I’m glad we still love each other and stuff. I hope we always like each other and that I’ll be good to you so you like me and everything. Cuz if you’re happy then I’m happy. XOX
One of my other favorites is how people adopt words into new meanings. When I was a reserve officer, the ne’er-do-well’s in the poorer section of town began using the word blasé to indicate “and so on…”
Instead of saying, “Then he came in and started all yelling at me and shit and it was blah-blah this and blah-blah that…” They’d say, “… and he was yelling and blasé this and blasé that… and blasé , blasé ”
Quite often I wanted to say, “Why, excuse me, citizen! I think you are confusing the phrase blah-blah, indicating and so on, with the word blasé, which means: Indifferent to or bored with life; unimpressed; or, unimpressed as if from an excess of worldly pleasures…”
The reply, I have no doubt, would have been, “Whatchyou talkin’ about you honky motherfucker?! Juss take your worldly pleasures white ass out there and catch that slipper wearin’ cassette deck stealin’ motherfucking crack head before I do and stomp his Nair ass so hard he’ll think he done been hit by uh elephant stampede!!”
Then I would have had to restrain myself from commenting on the fact that a herd of elephants would have possibly weighed less than she did and… well… you get the picture.
Then one day in briefing, my sergeant says, “So they (other officers the day before) respond to the scene and encounter the suspect. They question him as to his previous whereabouts and he says he was at home all day and blasé, blasé… And they know he is lying and they hook him up…”
I, blinked, shook my head and attempted to keep my jaw in an un-dropped position. My sergeant just used blasé, blasé! I no longer know the world in which I reside.
Maybe I’m not that goodly at writenating or nothing either but it seems to me that people today don’t care how they talk and stuff and they could maybe take some greatlier care with how they talk and shit. Or at least make a more goodlier effort to communificate more betterly, expecially when they are writing letters and crap. And learn to make a more better point without all this fucking cursing and swearing. I mean, how fucking hard can it be?! Stupid jagoffs. Blasé, blasé…
