THE AGE OF VAGUENESS — by Steve Nadis
Let’s face it: We live in a vague time in the history of the planet; there’s nothing distinctive about it, nothing that stands out. Just a general mushiness that pervades most human conduct as well. The other day, for example, I asked a friend if he wanted to join me for a movie at a particular time and place. “That’s not supposed to be too bad,” he said.
“It got pretty good reviews from what I saw,” I replied.
“Yeah, I noticed that too,” he agreed.
And then nothing–no reference whatsoever to my invitation, which might sound odd except for the fact that it seems to be the norm rather than the exception these days. “How about if we leave it open?” I suggested. Again there was no response. “OK fine. Let’s just leave it open…”
Posted by
at
18:20:28
I’ve noticed this kind of thing, too. Are we all just waiting to see what other offer is going to come along? And does the fact that the movie is “not supposed to be too bad” enter into it? It used to be that we’d go to the movies because something was deemed good and worthy of our time; now, is “not too bad” good enough?
Hi Daphne — I think you’re onto something: Everyone wants to keep their options open &, like wrestlers, keep from getting pinned down at all costs.
Nailed it on the head. Leaving it open in my life has become the norm. I don’t like how these things have changed. It wasn’t always like this. After many years of accepting this as passable, I decided to take things into my own hands. I no longer let my friends get away with it. They TRY….. But I’ve become quite good at getting them to “close” my questions and ideas with meaningful responses.
“Ask a man which way he is going to vote, and he will probably tell you. Ask him, however, why, and vagueness is all.”
-Bernard Levin
Good for you, Kipp. At least someone is tackling the vagueness problem head-on. Nice quote from Levin too.