Bob Dylan was right The times They are A-changin’

I’M FAIRLY CERTAIN ROBERT ALLEN ZIMMERMAN was not thinking about writing news, AP Stylebook, or even the NYT Manual of Style and Usage when he penned the song in the headline. ^{Lyrics Note 1}

As an old (in all respects) reporter and editor, I am saddened by the amateurs now plaguing the web and tube.

 

BACK IN THE DAY, if a reporter wrote, Rev. So-n-so (pick a verb), the editor, if the editor was any good at all (I was) would challenge the reporter: “Who said so-n-so was reverend?”

According to Merriam-Webster (now owned by Britannica — is anything American anymore?),

Reverend definition is - worthy of reverence : revered.²

The editor would tell the obviously novice reporter that when referring to a preacher, a pastor, a priest, rabbi or other ordained or self-proclaimed minister that the article THE must precede the title “reverend.”

We all know “reverends” who are NOT reverend.

All religions have them.

Occasionally they do something so disgusting or illegal that their actions are closely examined by the constabulary.

Because “reverend” is only an honorific, it should follow the article the.

This screed about amateur writing was prompted by articles about THE Rev. Raphael Warnock’s election to the U.S. Senate from Georgia.

THE Rev. Mr. Warnock apparently appreciates the wisdom of ex-President Obama’s preacher, THE Rev. Jeremiah Wright .

Ignorance at “name” media

MSN editors either don’t understand the word “reverend” or believe anyone who claims to be a “reverend” is, indeed, “reverend. It’s web site includes

A new Georgia GOP ad attacking Raphael Warnock shows the Democratic hopeful praising Rev. Jeremiah Wright, a controversial pastor who has been scrutinized for preaching criticism against the United States.³

FoxNews is no better.

A newly-resurfaced video shows Rev. Raphael Warnock defending Rev. Jeremiah Wright's controversial "God Damn America" sermon, arguing that it was "Christian preaching at its best."⁴

The Washington Examiner reports that

Hours of Democratic Rev. Raphael Warnock's sermons are being put under the political microscope as he seeks to oust appointed Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler.⁵

Smaller organizations can be forgiven for what this scrivener considers poor editing.

The Christian Post notes that

Reverend Raphael Warnock has preached that Jesus was a “poor Palestinian prophet.” This is not only false, it is targeted hate speech that only touches the surface of what he believes.⁶

It’s funny, but the late Johnny Cash knew better than MSN, and FoxNews.

Cash sang about The Reverend Mr. Black.⁷

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Sources

1. Lyrics to The times they are a-changin: https://tinyurl.com/y6g9lshn

2. Reverend definition: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reverend

3. MSN: https://tinyurl.com/yxr4rrc3

4. FoxNews: https://tinyurl.com/yyqlyxc7

5. Washington Examiner: https://tinyurl.com/y52jmjot

6. Christian Post: https://tinyurl.com/y5zzylt8

7. Lyrics to The Reverend Mr. Black: https://tinyurl.com/y5rdbtlq

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on Changing Times

Call me “Mister”

When I was young, just after The Flood, I was taught to not only respect my elders but to show them that respect.

Yes sir, no sir; yes mam, no mam.

Never, never presume to call an adult by their given name unless specifically invited to do so by the adult. Maybe Uncle Joe wanted to be called Uncle Joe, but unless the lady at the corner market asked to be called Carol, it was Miz Swartz.

In the pseudo-military of the U.S. Air Force, back when Wilber and Orville were taking to the air, peons – of which I was one – were obliged to salute shave tail second lieutenants who, as every sergeant knows, are lower than new recruits. We had to address them as sir or mam; in fact, everyone with more rank than E-1 – there was nothing lower – had to be shown respect; sir or mam.

We were told we didn’t have to like the person we were addressing; we had to show respect for the rank, and yes, Virginia, some of those people were pretty “rank.”

But, as Robert Allen Zimmerman told us, “Times they are a’changin.” (http://tinyurl.com/23xbawo). He should know; he and I are contemporaries if not contemporary.

I’m a grey beard; I look my age. Living this long certainly beats the alternative.

I take umbrage when some “whipper snapper” takes liberties and addresses me, a total stranger, by my given name. As I made an appointment for an eye exam the Sweet Young Thing at the desk, using my given name, told me my appointment was set. When she said my name I quietly corrected her: It’s Mister Glenn.

I don’t know the child – she looked to be in her 20s – and I don’t care if she wore a name tag with her given name on it – remember, I was scheduling an eye exam so maybe I just failed to see the name tag.

This buddy-buddy approach is fostered by management to make the customer – be the product spectacles or Cadillacs – think he or she is among friends. Nonsense! The customer is among people who are after the customer’s money.

Until I give someone leave to address me by my given name, don’t do it, unless, of course you either (a) are older than me or (b) wish me to address you in a similar manner. Rabbis, doctors, judges, and the like beware.

My “junior” surgeon is younger than me – my “senior” surgeon is my age; neither invites me to call them by their first names although I confess to taking liberties with the junior’s surname; it’s Hertz and I refer to him as “Painless” since I never needed even an aspirin following his work at the table.

I don’t normally call a rabbi by his given name, even if I am very much the youngster’s senior. (I often feel sorry for rabbis and doctors who lack “first name” friends. In some Latin countries, titles are prefixed to names of engineers, lawyers, and other professionals. )

I am a curmudgeon, no doubt about it. But I firmly believe this would be a better place if minimal courtesies were restored; start with addressing your elders by title, if only Mister, Miss, Misses, or even Miz; children should – gasp! – stand when a teacher enters the classroom. Let’s put hands over the heart during the U.S. National Anthem – ever watch the players at a sports event; maybe one in five or 10 doff their hats and place them over their heart. Heck, I’m not even sure our elected officials, from POTUS down, show respect to the flag and anthem. (Yes, I see their little flag lapel pins; it’s simply not the same.)

Who knows what a modicum of courtesy might generate. Perhaps less road rage? Less cutting in lines? Gentlemen holding the door for ladies – or have both gone the way of dinosaurs?

Go on, as Mr. Clint Eastwood famously said, “make my day” (http://tinyurl.com/cfm9mqd) and “call me mister” (http://tinyurl.com/cupa9q7 and http://tinyurl.com/3xbcc4u).

As I “researched” the origin of “Call me Mister,” the first URL I visited referred to a play of that name revolving around, according to Wikipedia, returning soldiers (from WW II) who expected to be addressed as civilians instead of by their military rank.

I recall how surprised I was when, as a just out of the Air Force civilian someone addressed me as “Mister Glenn.” I almost went into shock – that would have been OK since I was working at a hospital. That incident occurred (c 1963) before many readers of this rant were born.

To paraphrase the late Mr. James Francis Durante, “goodnight, Ms. Swartz, wherever you are.”