Snollygoster
I
bet you never heard this word before. I hadn’t until I came across it in a
biography of Harry S Truman, the 33rd President of the United
States. Intrigued, I looked it up in the dictionary. A snollygoster is “a
person, especially a politician who is guided by personal advantage rather than
by consistent, respectable principles.” The word first appeared early in the 19th
century to describe a person who is clever and unscrupulous.
Given
the present political climate in our country, it wouldn’t take much for the
finger pointers and name callers to add this word to the caustic rhetoric of
the day. But I don’t think this word should be used exclusively by politicians.
It’s much too good a word.
Raised
with moral platitudes ringing in my ears, I remember phrases like “say what you
mean and mean what you say” and “talk is cheap.” Our world of talking heads and
social media 24/7 doesn’t allow for much reflection on words spoken. The fast
pace of life events challenge us to keep up. Reflection and formulation of one’s
own opinion seems to be a dying discipline.
It
must be my philosophical training that wants to get behind the words and know
something of the speaker’s character. Some years ago, the political climate
changed when we were told that a person’s personal life had nothing to do with
their public life. As if one were able to separate one’s words from one’s person.
This sounds a lot like “do as I say not as I do.” No wonder the spoken word has
lost credibility.
The
Bible is full of life giving words. The Book of Proverbs has words that give
life. Here is but one example: “You’ll find wisdom on the lips of a person of
insight, but the shortsighted needs a slap in the face.” I am sure this in reference
to a snollygoster!
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