Opinion
LION AND THE LAMB: Have a nice cliché ... uh, day!
We get it at the bank, restaurant and pawn shop. We get it at the grocery store, service station and even at the doctor’s office. We get it morning, afternoon and night. We get it on the phone and from the TV news announcer. “It” is that overused, non-meaning, trite and boring cliché “Have a nice day.”
Whoever started this saying a few years ago probably thought they were doing humankind a great service. They possibly felt — as many do — that the centuries-old greeting “goodbye” (a condensed form of “God bless you”) had lost its kick. So, “Have a nice day” was a welcome and refreshing change. However, the young delivery man makes his rounds and has me sign his invoice with “haveaniceday.” He does not look at me when he says it; in fact, he seems programmed to say it automatically to everyone.
This past summer I was being checked-out by the grocery clerk who concluded the transaction with those words. I wanted so much to say: “How can I have a ‘nice day?’ Its 97 degrees, our air conditioning just quit, my mother-in-law is arriving tomorrow, and my favorite sports team was shut-out.”
I honestly get the feeling that some people don’t give a tinker’s ... about your real feelings, and have simply put their mind and mouth into neutral. It some cases I would really like to say: “Gosh this has been a lousy day, I lost my job, my pet pig died and my rent is due.” I wonder if after hearing my woes I’d still get those words.
OK, so what do I suggest we say to each other? There ought to be at least three ingredients in our greetings to other humans: sincere feelings, voice inflections, and eye contact.
Greetings and salutations given with genuineness and sensitivity are as important to humans as flowers are to bees. I suggest some possibilities, and you add to the list: “live,” “enjoy,” “go for it,” “thanks for coming,” “all the best,” “peace to you,” “shalom.” The words “peace to you” can be spoken with both a religious and secular meaning; either way it can re-enforce one's personhood. Now, you think “peace to you” is reserved only for namby-pamby persons. Would you rather say: “war to you”? I hope not.
Shalom is a great Hebrew word that we in Cumberland County ought to include in our vocabulary. (Please to not get hung-up on using or not using “shalom” because of your views of being “for” or “against” the activity of the State of Israel and their relationships with their neighbors. That’s an issue for another time.) Shalom means more than just peace (although we will take that). Shalom is a deep relationship between any two people; between a person and God; and between groups and nations.
Shalom is the way God meant our world to be. Shalom means more than simply the absence of hostility and war (again, we will take that). Shalom means a deep concern for all people at all times, and that the needs of all are met. It is a word which “Lions” and “Lambs” and all the rest can speak.
Art Buchwald and a friend were riding in a taxi. When they got out his friend paid the driver and then said, “Thanks for the ride. You did a superb job of driving.” The cabbie looked suspiciously at him and replied, “Who are you, some kind of wise guy?”
Buchwald asked his friend why he praised the cab driver. “I’m trying to bring happiness back into New York City,” his friend replied. He went on to say, “Suppose the cabbie has 20 fares. That means because I was nice to him, he is going to be nice to 20 other people. These persons, in turn, are going to be nice to clerks, and servers and employees and maybe even to their own families.”
A skeptical Buchwald asked, “Does it work?” His friend said simply, “Nothing is lost if it doesn’t.”
What do I suggest we say to each other and how should we use language? I ask for freshness and creativity; and that we are clear and honest when we converse. Say what we mean, and mean what we say.
Crossville (like any other community) can use all the happiness it can get. I am convinced that our words are either harmful or helpful as we address other humans. So, “keep on keeping on” and “Shalom.”
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