What to Say to Conservatives: Lucus a non Lucendo

lükəˌsā¦nänlüˈsenˌdō
IS HOW YOU SAY MY NEW FAVORITE LATIN PHRASE

Ladies think it's sexy when you speak Latin

I have a friend that says the same thing every time Donald Trump comes up: "I read an article about the net-worths of presidents and it said that Obama made all his money because of his presidency and that Clinton was almost broke before he became president, and now he's rich, and Trump hasn't made a dime being president.

Of course it isn't true, but what does it have to do with anything? Both Dem presidents were in office for eight years and had very lucrative book deals. Both were also civil servants before taking the highest office. Also, why are we talking about this when we were just talking about Russia?!?!!?

LUCUS A NON LUCENDO!!!!

Lucus a non lucendo literally means it's not a dark grove in that it is not lighted. It's an absurd little joke because grove is called lucus only because there's no light there, but lucus looks like it's related to the word lucere (to shine). It's related to parum luceat, meaning it doesn't shine being darkened by shade.

HOW CAN I USE THIS TERM?

Well, you can use it in place of non sequitur if you want and don't mind spell check putting red lines under lucus a non lucendo. Or you can use it for any absurdity. You can use it place of bullshit and make yourself sound super smart. I think you can also use in place of oxymoron, but I can't find anything online that will tell me that's actually acceptable, but who cares? It's Latin. You can do whatever you want to do with it when speaking English.

But I'm going to scream it every time we're talking about Donald Trump and someone says "what about Hillary Clinton?"

I'm going to scream it every time someone says "All lives matter" when we're talking about Black Lives Matter

I'm going to scream it at "Fake News."

And any time someone says something about how it's snowing so there's no such thing as humans affecting the climate, I'm gonna whip it out:

Lucus a non lucendo.

Right now it's on Merriam-Webster's bottom 20% in popularity. I'm going to bring that number up!

Letterman Does what CNN Can't and Fox Won't

I watched David Letterman's new show, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, last night and loved it as kind of a highbrow version of Sarah Silverman's I Love America with far fewer jokes and a format more like Actor's Studio but not as cringeworthy and far less boring somehow.

Its genial tone and Letterman's obvious interest and genuine stake in the conversation are like a welcome respite to the maelstrom of political screaming everywhere. Even when they spoke of Trump, they were respectful and polite. GASP POLITE!!!!?!!?!

I could gush about the show, but what's really interesting to me is this line I saw quoted on CNN when I woke up this morning:

"One of the things that Michelle figured out, in some ways faster than I did, was part of your ability to lead the country doesn't have to do with legislation, doesn't have to do with regulations, it has to do with shaping attitudes, shaping culture, increasing awareness."

This is a really great line that encapsulates what I love about this show (and Barack Obama) and what I hate about what's happened in the media in the last few years.

This is president Obama speaking off the cuff, and it's more measured and thoughtful than anything we've seen come out of prepared speeches from most presidents, least of all our current one. He's humble and manages to maintain a dominant position with a self-deprecating opening. It's almost as if he's willing to say, "forget about who I am for a moment, Jack; I'm begging you to realize how important your role is to our culture."

Today when I rolled over and looked at my phone, the first article was from CNN:

Obama's stern warning for Trump

I mean... a plea maybe. A stern warning? C'mon. I know you guys went to college and know what words mean. I'm not even asking you to take the high road, but this is a little ridiculous. You can't say truth matters and words matter when you're going to use this as your headline for a one-sentence quote in which Trump wasn't even mentioned. If the truth matters, act like it.

Anyway, in a world lacking dignity, decorum, grace, civility, and compassion at the highest levels of governance and entertainment, this new David Letterman format had me sighing in relief that all is not lost.

I'm glad someone like Letterman is throwing himself back into this in a meaningful way.

Here are some links:

Obama's Stern Warning »
Mr Letterman's New Show »