Word: vacuum
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...British empire, on which the sun never set, that originally spread English around the world, along with tea breaks, cuffed trousers and the stiff upper lip. But when the imperial sun finally did set after World War II, the American language followed American power into the vacuum. Key reason: the language has a rare forcefulness and flexibility. Even the authoritative Oxford English Dictionary last month incorporated such Americanisms as yuppie and zilch. Explained Editor Robert Burchfield: "Our language is changing slowly, and America is leading the way now, not Britain...
...early masters in Russia, France and England. But the hard-boiled detective was born in America. His popularity has remained in force for half a century. He can be seen on countless shelves of paperbacks and hardcovers, and he has appeared on prime time since the first vacuum tube was plugged in. The TV series Spenser: For Hire and Mike Hammer are two of his latest hangouts. As he was in the films of the '40s, so he is today, in Raymond Chandler's memorable phrase, a man "who is neither tarnished nor afraid" as he walks down America...
Stockman's 'gee-whiz' admissions about the policy vacuum that has permitted the American economy to career close to the fiscal brink have already received more attention (and shekels from Newsweek), than they deserve. What hasn't gotten so much remark is the character of the man himself. Perhaps people are tired of Stockman, perhaps Michael Deaver's shenanigans have supplied everyone's sleaze fix, but Triumph is not only the tale of history's greatest fiscal fiasco, it's an extraordinary summary of the political degeneration of a generation, a moral and institutional slackness that characterizes politics the Harvard...
John P. Thompson's piece "Spiritual Soliciation" (April 15, 1986) struck home. Being approached by a smooth-talking vacuum salesperson is offensive enough, but to feel similarly manipulated regarding deeply held personal beliefs is both threatening and disillusioning. I have encountered my share of aggressive proselytizing groups and have known the discomfort of superficial religious encounters. As a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons), I have also known this discomfort from the dispensing end, and have felt the pain of realizing that in my sincere but clumsy efforts to live and share...
Their shallow preliminary chatter seems irreconcilable with a heartfelt faith. Either they were mindlessly falling into a sort of carnival barker's patter, or they were consciously, and cunningly, manipulating a friendly overture into a "sale." This kind of superficiality is nauseating even in vacuum salesmen. A religious faith should be an unadorned conviction to be candidly and sincerely shared; it should not be the tail-end proposition of a maze of small-talk...