It’s funny to think of a dictionary as subversive isn’t it?   Yet, there was a maelstrom of resistance to changes in how to approach English in 1961.

Subversive Words
by Michael Romani

In 1961, wordsmiths grew defensive
Declaring Webster's intolerably offensive
Words chosen became an affront to decency
The critics charged with no leniency

The kerfuffle over slang's new inclusion
Over those preferring a proud exclusion
No longer would there be a singular reference
As words and their meanings became preference

Truth be told, there is no existing authority
In a world of words competing as sources of dictionary
Proper English has seldom held real power
With the example of Shakespeare's coinage taking the hour

There is the power of self framing over the packaged and sold
And it has always been this way from the very days of old
Always in flux and subject to massive transformation
That is until recent evidence of the impact of mal-information

There are political consequences to any thing goes approach
And perhaps there is a need for propriety careful to encroach
On how people use their words in terms of the casually spoken
Despite the cruel hearts of word misers that need to be broken

Broken just enough to realize that words are for those living
Those are actively engaged in the taking and in the giving
Truth is that dictionaries have always had a leveling effect
And that equalizer of classes will always stand as correct

(c) August 20, 2018  Michael Romani
All Rights Reserved