K.I.S.S.

Keep It Simple, Stupid!

That was one of our rules in radio broadcasting. Our language is full of thousands of wonderful words, which more perfectly describe daily events and common objects. Many of those words are unfamiliar to a large swath of the population. Our job was to communicate, not confuse. We worked hard to keep our speech immediately clear to all of our audience.

If you are writing for print, I believe in using the more descriptive words in our language. Reading the printed page, you can take a moment to check the definition of a word, then continue reading. My Dad had only a fourth grade education, but he loved to learn. He bought one of those Oxford unabridged dictionaries (about ten inches thick) and built a special stand for it. He kept that massive dictionary next to his chair, and he read all sorts of things. He constantly referenced his big dictionary for definitions.

Yet, we know that few people will be so diligent in their quest to comprehend. So, important writings, such as law, should be written in the language of the average man. The Founding Fathers understood, and wrote the blueprint for our entire government in a brief document we call The Constitution. Recently, sitting in a waiting room in a doctor's office. I re-read the entire document. Amendments and all.

I believe most people prefer simple language for daily communication. That is why most native Spanish speakers speak Spanish in their homes. For them, Spanish is more instantly understood - they don't need to stop and puzzle over the meaning.

The popularity of the new reality TV show Duck Dynasty is further proof that many people are happiest when you 'keep it simple, stupid'.

Sometimes, however, the simplest form of expression is the most descriptive, the clearest in meaning.

Recently, Phil Robertson, the patriarch of the Duck Dynasty family gave a speech on abortion. He said our Declaration of Independence described life as an inalienable right. So, asked Robertson, how do we justify depriving an infant that inalienable right by ripping it, piece by piece, from its mother's womb.

Harsh language, to be sure. But what choice of words could actually be a more accurate description of the event we so delicately call choice?