What’s Cooking: Looking at the Tator family
During the past few weeks I have been thinking about a few words that many of us use or at least hear every day. One of the reasons I haven’t gone ahead and done the article is that I was hoping I could think of a few more words that would fit the subject — The Tator Family.
I would like to introduce you to this family. There are at least nine members of this family. There is Agitator, there is Commentator, there is Dictator, there is Hesitater, there is Imitator, there is Meditator, there is Navigator, than there is the Procrastinator, then there is old Spectator. The word “navigator” actually doesn’t fit in with the title of this, but it ties in so closely with the others that I wanted to include it.
Where do we begin with this “family?” Some of these family members are so close-knit that we may not be able to determine which is which.
Let’s start with ole Agitator. The dictionary says an agitator is: ag-i-ta-tor,
1. One who agitates, especially one who engages in political agitation.
2. An apparatus that shakes or stirs, as in a washing machine.
When ever I think of an agitator, I usually think of the second definition. But the first definition is what we are concerned with today. Seemingly there are many, many people who are not satisfied unless they are in the business of agitating or stirring up trouble. Many of our problems today lies with that fact that someone has agitated someone or something. It doesn’t take a lot to start something big. But to stop it takes a lot of doing. Ole Agitator is a menace to society.
Let’s look at Commentator. The definition for commentator is: com-men-ta-tor,
1. A broadcaster or writer who reports and analyzes events in the news.
2. One who writes or delivers a commentary or commentaries.
Most, if not all, of us likes to know what’s going on in our community, city, state, nation and the world. A lot of us savor the big reports, particularly if those reports are really very ugly and menacing to lots of people. In the days of the old “party lines”, lots of folks would pick up the receiver whether it was “their ring” or not. They just wanted to know what was going on, whether it was “their business” or not. It has been said, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.”
In most cases this is true. But to spread something that may not be true may be likened to emptying a feather bed in a hurricane. That person may have a desire to gather all the feathers up, but such would be utterly impossible.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. Psalms 19:14
Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. Col. 4:6
I will continue with this topic next time.