Lack of profound thoughts...

I had a really profound thought the other night as Brian and I were driving to the casino. I remember that I told him I should write about it in my blog, but... I forgot it. So nothing profound from me tonight. Oh well.

I love my iPod! I cannot say it enough. I loaded more music last night, so I have a better variety once again. Let me just say it again - just one more time. I love my iPod!

That makes me think... we talk about things we hate all the time. In fact, we use the word so loosely that it has become severely devalued. I think the word hate should be used exclusively for extremely vile things/acts/people. People (and I'm as guilty as the rest of them) say things like "I hate peanuts," or "I hate rap music," or "I hate licking envelopes." Dictionary.com gives this definition of 'hate": to dislike intensely or passionately; feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward; detest. So, when you see peanuts do you feel extreme aversion to them? Probably not, unless you're one of the unlucky people who are allergic to them. When I say "I hate driving a car with a stick shift," I don't really hate it - I just really, really dislike it. It's still better than having nothing to drive and it's more because I don't know what I'm doing and I'm scared. But when I say "I hate bigotry and prejudice," I really mean it. The problem lies when the word is so overused in your vocabulary that hating bigotry and hating peanuts become equal in the eyes of your listeners. So here's a challenge for the whole one person who reads this. Try choosing your words carefully. Don't use the knee-jerk reaction first word that comes to your mind when you're talking about things you dislike. Especially think about what you're saying if you're talking about a person. There are lots of people I don't particularly like, but I don't think there's a person that I would say I hate. Except maybe evil dictators like Hitler or Saddam. That kind of person I can get behind hating.