Pragmatic

Pragmatic (01/04/2012) Taking my son to school recently I was listening to an interview on NPR with a spokesperson from Merriam-Webster dictionary. I have always loved the dictionary and can remember scouring the unabridged version when I was in school, searching for words I needed to learn and finding words of which I had never heard. Today, I never pick up a printed dictionary and instead relay on a digital search. Companies like Merriam-Webster benefit because in the digital world the company captures data about users, like the most common search. For 2011 Merriam-Webster reported the most searched word is “pragmatic.” Coincidentally, in conversation the day before the NPR piece I was commenting “I’m a doom and gloomer” when it comes to the economy, currencies, resources, or general outlook. My friend Katie quickly corrected me and said, “I don’t think you’re a doom and gloomer; your pragmatic.” Like many of us looking for the meaning of the word pragmatic I cannot say I gave much thought to it before our economic downturn several years ago. In September 2007, I lost my job and found myself selling unneeded items, downsizing through multiple garage sales, and finally having to leave my friends and children in New Smynra Beach, Florida. I started reading, learning, and understanding government, money, commodities, food chains, and even media interpretation of events. Ultimately, this led to my opportunity to write weekly newspaper columns in several papers and publishing my book, Clearly Ambiguous. Encouraged by personal change I started identifying trends and taking an umpire-like view of the world, “calling it like it is.” Specifically I remember a meeting with a group of realtors in spring 2008, part of a leads group I had formed, and the realtors commenting the housing market would return by the end of the year. I challenged their thoughts, stating it would be five to ten years before real estate made any return to the prior levels. Challenged, I stood my ground sharing statistics, facts, and observations. Recent data by the National Association of Realtors has reiterated the markets have been worse than reported and instead consistent with my assertions. Each week I work hard to share events whether identifying infringements on our liberties, disputing economic optimism, or calling out the idiocy of our leaders’ decision making. My friend has accused me of being negative, another of living on the mountain too long and become radical. I think Katie got it right, I am “pragmatic.” prag•mat•ic (adj \prag-ˈma-tik\) 1: archaic a (1): BUSY (2): OFFICIOUS b: OPINIONATED. 2: relating to matters of fact or practical affairs often to the exclusion of intellectual or artistic matters : practical as opposed to idealistic.