Remember when the word, gravitas, entered the public conversation for the first time? Well, stay tuned, because solastalgia is next.
A rarely-used 131-year-old word at the time, according to Merriam-Webster, gravitas was introduced en masse to the American vocabulary by members of the liberal media within 24 hours of President George W. Bush’s selection of Dick Cheney to be his vice presidential running mate in July 2000. Almost always used with negative connotations, it was used to describe what “W” was said to lack in terms of experience and what he needed in a running mate. Rush Limbaugh even devoted a segment of his radio show to the mainstream media’s “discovery” of the word.
Eight years after its introduction, gravitas was declared dead and, for almost two years, nothing had surfaced to take its place in the American vocabulary. Then solastalgia arrived just in time for heated debate to begin on Capitol Hill about the so-called “Cap and Trade” legislation.
Solastalgia is a new word that appears in a recently-released report (see Sec. 1, page 38) from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Interagency Working Group on Climate Change and Health. It’s defined as “place-based distress caused by the effects of climate change due to involuntary migration or the loss of connection to one’s home environment.”
Despite the fact that, according to Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), climate change is the “greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people”, I predict members of the mainstream media will begin using it soon — and with fervor — as if it has existed since the beginning of time.
Despite the fact that Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary doesn’t even list the word, I predict it will become as mainstream as gravitas during the next few years.
Stay tuned for solastalgia.
9 responses so far ↓
1 BobMcCarty // Apr 26, 2010 at 10:47 am
BTW: Hat tip > Magiman007
2 Magiman007 // Apr 26, 2010 at 12:28 pm
“Solastalgia,” a term first used by Australian researcher Glenn Albrecht, decribes the emotion that humans suffer at the loss of their environment and sense of home. Sola is the greek base root for “alone”. The following link is a perfect example of people who are experiancing “solastalgia.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r47MZjlI3_M&feature=player_embedded
3 BobMcCarty // Apr 26, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Thanks, Mag!
4 » Links to Visit – 04/26/10 NoisyRoom.net: Fighting for the Constitution // Apr 26, 2010 at 2:04 pm
[...] McCarty Writes – ‘Solastalgia’ the Next Liberal Buzzword Share and [...]
5 dan // Apr 27, 2010 at 5:22 am
Hi Bob,
when do you think gravitas first entered public conversation?
6 ‘Solastalgia’ the Next Liberal Buzzword : Stop The ACLU // Apr 27, 2010 at 7:17 am
[...] SOURCE [...]
7 dan // Apr 27, 2010 at 7:44 am
Hi Bob,
Senator James Inhofe…
In the 2008 election cycle, Senator Inhofe’s largest campaign donors represented the oil and gas ($446,900 in donations), leadership pacs ($316,720) and electric utilities ($221,654) industries/categories.[48] In 2010, his largest donors represented the oil and gas ($429,950) and electric utilities ($206,654).[49]
8 JoeZ // Jul 29, 2011 at 7:44 pm
You do know, don’t you, that gravatis is Latin, and refers to one of the classic virtues? Oh, you didn’t? Better check Wikipedia, then: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitas
9 BobMcCarty // Jul 29, 2011 at 9:19 pm
When I said “introduction,” I should have spelled it out for you, JoeZ. I meant introduction into the popular vernacular. In the future, I’ll try to type s-l-o-w-e-r for you.
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