Word: elmo
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Although Zinaman had no fears about her car's dependability on the big day, she says she did find it helpful to have a friend by her side during the exam--a bean bag Elmo that her mother gave her as a good luck charm...
...want a hot investment tip? Better make that TIPS, the acronym for a new class of U.S. government bond that went on sale last week--and quickly turned into the Treasury Department's version of Tickle-Me Elmo. The new wonder bonds, known as Treasury Inflation Protection Securities, were snapped up by institutional investors such as insurance companies and pension funds, which lugged $37 billion to the table, even though only $7 billion worth of the 10-year notes were actually up for sale...
Maybe that is why Elmo worries me; I oppose him because he seems so hard to oppose. Elmo is cute, but he is really second-rate, an easy symbol for people to cling to. At the inauguration, Clinton and others were unclear on where the bridge to the 21st century will lead exactly; and spoke in foggy phrases and labels. Washington seems to think that, like Elmo, they can be stylish and pull a cute thing and replace any real details. No wonder the committee thought Elmo would be a great addition to their party...
Cuteness is harmless, but its powers are so easily manipulated. I fear that Elmo heroism could hide the real priorities we should envision as we approach the 21st century--the concerns and values that tire us out, that cause us to sleep uncomfortably in our beds. It seems the hard issues of the early 90s have made the national consciousness tired: AIDS, the environment, global nuclear disarmament. We can't be Elmo and approach these issues ready to learn for a bit and then rely on others to shape our ideas; we need not to see a complex world...
...approach the end of the century and the turning of the millennium, we should not delude ourselves that the big questions have been answered and we are free to run and play. Elmo is an important and adorable figure in our preschools and on television, but he shouldn't overstep his proper place, on "Sesame Street." We can't let Elmo become a national hero, of easy answers and wonder in a time when we need strong leaders who can make tough choices. Elmo just isn't made of the right stuff...