Musings in Search of a Muse

"President Bush on Monday endorsed creation of a national intelligence czar and counterterrorism center — his first steps in revamping the nation’s intelligence-gathering system to help prevent a repeat of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks" (MSNBC story, "Bush backs new intelligence czar"). That is all well and good, I am sure (well, perhaps... I have not read the story yet), but will the media please stop using the word Czar to describe a person in charge of something? Please? This is an old gripe of mine, but it shows the lack of originality in American news media. They hear a word and cannot let go. This one goes back to the first Bush administration (maybe even Reagan, but I am not sure ... "Drug Czar" ... does that sound familiar?). What happened to quality writing? Oh! That's right! It's alive and well at the BBC, PBS, NPR, and a few other places that care more about journalistic traditions than about sensationalizing and breaking down the news below a 5th grade level. The average newspaper is written on an 8th grade level. Not the New York Times. It is written around 11th grade level as a Fog Index test shows.

There are hundreds of thousands of words in the English language. It's a shame to not use as many as possible. Or at least use the most succinct and illustrative words possible. Certainly words behemoth in stature are inelegant in some circumstances. A plethora of words can overwhelm people, as well. But do we want our kids growing up thinking a Czar is a simple bureaucrat or the title of a Russian emperor because someone's vocabulary is etymologically deficient or because they cannot use a thesaurus or dictionary?

There is no excuse. Not even that the job of the American media is to make money first and to inform second. Mark me; I do not vituperate this situation. This is a capitalist democracy. This should create a profuseness of sources that contribute to the checks and balances to keep our government and culture fresh and vigorous. Makes me wonder why they are so homogenious then. Czar! Cannot someone use a different word for once?

And just to let you know ... I looked up only one word in the rant above: vituperate. It is a synonym for criticize. My thoughts and normal speech patterns really do reflect a large, polysyllabic vocabulary strung through sentences of long, though grammatically correct, length. Under different circumstances, however, it pays to modify this. Big words and kids don't mix well, for example. Or talk to a most sailors and ex-sailors I know without swearing and they look at you funny. There is a time and place for every word. Every word has a power and majesty that, when used properly, make communicating a joyful and productive experience.

Unless you are the American media, of course.