contextual

  The terms we use change over time. My grandmother said she had an ice box, although she did have a refrigerator. It was just that she had an ice box for many years and that is what she called that. I sometimes would call it an ice box as well. That's because you tend to repeat what you hear others saying, learning the language you might say. Colloquial is another word for that, learning a dialect. We say dial the phone, but we haven't dialed one since the 1960's. Kleenex means a tissue. They replaced handkerchiefs more or less. A handkerchief is usually just decorative today. In fact, most people would be grossed out if you blew your nose into that thing and shoved it in your pocket. I mentioned turning the channel on television. Remember when you had to physically turn a dial to do that. Having looked inside the television to see what happens it was a baffling thing. Just a bunch of plates that spun inside each other. Today we switch channels remotely by pushing a button. I have no idea what is happening inside that tv. But we still say, turn the channel. 

 I started writing this and discovered it is harder to think of these things that I thought it would be. The terms and phrases are so ingrained that it is hard to see them differently. Other terms creep in and we adopt them. If I say to you, do you have a landline, you know what I'm asking. If I said that to you twenty years ago you most likely would wonder, what the heck is he talking about? Other things like a shoehorn could be confusing to some. You're next in the queue. Everyone knows what that is today. Wasn't long ago when the majority wouldn't have had any idea about that, we were just on hold or standing in line. Debit cards? And if something was online your Mom probably hung it there. The wash had to be hung out. Zap it. We know what needs to be done. Have you tried rebooting it? I'm old enough to remember when we wore galoshes! And my grandmother called them rubbers. Yeah, they definitely serve a different purpose today. It's all about context.

 That's becoming a big problem today, understanding the context. We have people from all walks of life, all social classes intermingling exchanging ideas and their thoughts. The problems begin when we don't understand each other contextually. It's quite a difficult thing to accomplish on social media especially. I'm responding to what is happening around me, in my environment and you are responding in yours. I'm trying to figure out what you mean while you are thinking, what the heck. 

 Separating sarcasm, rhetoric and genuine feelings can be hard. The terms we use relate to the current situation except not all of us are aware of that. It's what we used to call being "cool." Being cool is understanding the current language. It's a sort of code talk, to confuse the old people. At least it used to be, today it is called something else, "woke" being one example. Us old people might still say Mary Jane and the other old people will know what we are talking about. Now the "woke" people are concerned with racial discrimination and social justice. Like the hippies once were only insisting everyone else agree and join in. The hippies just made their own communes, they dropped out and tuned in. Yes, they were cool. Woke isn't cool.

 The context of time. That's the issue and has always been the issue. What really happened? It all depends upon who you ask. More importantly, what did it mean? How to describe an action. What channel do you watch? Before televisions that certainly meant something entirely different. Today people make judgements based on that. Someone being Gay has certainly changed in meaning. Today it takes five letters plus to describe that. What does it mean? The social changes we advocate for, and implement will; surprise, surprise, change society. Will it lead to the downfall of that society? History suggests it will.