My guess is that most of us that most of us tend to think of a hijacking as a short, sharp affair either involving violence or the threat of violence. Accordingly, you might well consider my statement from yesterday’s blog: “The U.S. economy has been legally hijacked,” as not only being over the top, but actually inaccurate.
Though I’m satisfied that the word ‘hijack’ conveys the seriousness of the situation, and can have the desired impact, I was sufficiently concerned about its accuracy to do a bit of web browsing this morning.
Lo and behold some of the definitions of ‘hijack’ in www.en.wiktionary.org
- To forcibly stop and seize control of some vehicle in order to rob it or to reach a destination (especially an airplane, truck or a boat).
- To seize control of some process or resource other than its originally intended one.
Good grief! I seem to be right on the money where the second definition is concerned. Consider me much relieved. I try not to obsess about finding the definitive word, but I do strive for clarity.
Now you might well ask why I didn’t check a dictionary before writing yesterday’s piece—and you would be right to do so. All I can say in my defense is that I was recovering from one of the most enjoyable Christmas dinners in many years—where the hospitality was unstinting and the company delightful.
‘Unstinting’ takes a little time to recover from.
Our hosts are a truly remarkable family, generous in spirit and with their hospitality. We hold different views politically, but seem to be able to bridge that particular divide. They debate without rancor and with high good humor. They are warm-hearted, socially concerned, and impressively non-judgmental. All in all, they are thoroughly marvelous people—and the icing on the cake is that they are Irish (Irish-American).
Politically, primarily I’m interested in what works. If unfettered capitalism worked—in the sense that it delivered a reasonable lifestyle for all the population—I’d be rooting for it. But the evidence is that other forms of capitalism work better—and that our current economic system is deeply flawed.
According to recent polls, many think the current economy is not performing adequately but I ‘m not sure that enough have yet transitioned to the reality that it is not just the economy, it’s the American business model—our economic system—that lies at the root of our trouble.
It’s time to keep the good, remedy the flaws, and (as much as possible)keep labels out of it. The answers are not only out there, but—in most cases—well proven.
On an entirely different matter, I have just received some rather extraordinary, but delightful, news. I’m tempted to postpone this post and write about it—but I won’t. Not yet! But, I’m very pleased.
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