January has already been quite the ride with all the ads, politicians, influencers and new words

Kathleen Anderson

Did anyone else notice the latest advertising scheme during the holidays?  The one that introduced their great product that we couldn’t possibly live without, that was immediately followed by the announcement of the company’s closing? “Order now, or it will be gone forever!” cried the announcer.

I considered making a list of these companies just to see how many recover in time for next Christmas.

January is already over, and I must say it did not go quietly. There is now a new speaker in the House of Representatives. That vote took a while, breaking all previous records for the selection process.

The presidential candidates are already lining up, so it will be a long year of campaign promises, missteps, and out-and-out lies. So far, we have learned that a former president and two former vice presidents (one of whom is the current sitting president) have classified documents in their private homes and storage units.

One of the newest elected officials has lied about everything on his resume, personal life and history and is still in office. Apparently, if his lips are moving…

And what is up with all these new identifying words? Just how does one become an “influencer”? From what I can gather, you just have to promote yourself on any social network platform.

Your comments, clothing, makeup, bodily additions or subtractions and dance moves are so intriguing that we all want to see, hear and copy your every move.

I was also trying to understand what constitutes “woke” individuals and had to look it up on Wikipedia:

Woke (/ˈwoʊk/ WOHK)

“is a word which originally referred to awareness about racism and discrimination. It later came to include an awareness of other issues of social inequality, for example regarding gender and sexual orientation. Since the late 2010s it has also been used as a general word for left-wing political movements and viewpoints which emphasis the identity politics of people of color (those who are not white), LGBT people, and women”.

I thought the word for this was awareness.

I know that there are areas in neighborhoods close to my home where my family doesn’t feel comfortable. There are tip-offs with certain graffiti, flags and other sight items that identify those who oppose the definition of WOKE.

I do not understand why people feel the need to change definitions and create new words for old problems, if they want me to understand and support their platform. Buzz words don’t do it for me. They just shorten what should be a deeper and more informative conversation.

But then I am still asking myself what Paris Hilton and the Kardashians did that can be considered a contribution to society, besides glorifying plastic surgery. Apparently, they were part of the first “influencers.”

Times change, I know. And I am clearly not as up-to-date as I obviously should be.  I love the English language. I still love quotes from Maya Anglo and Dorthey Parker.

I still admire the doctors and scientists that have prevented death and invented vaccines, teachers that inspired students to follow their dreams of becoming leaders and leaders that inspired us to feed the hungry, heal the sick of body and mind, and shelter the homeless.

The word that was kept, the handshake that was the bond, the honesty and integrity that was important to us as individuals.

Those individuals were and are my “influencers.”

So, I am off to find good news, good people and good deeds. I know they are out there. They are just a little harder to find when I have to keep looking up the new words being used to describe them.

Kathleen Anderson writes this column each week from her home in Olympia.  Contact her at  kathleen@theJOLTnews.com or post your comment below.