CRYPTOGRAPHY

The Rev. Dana Prom Smith, S.T.D., Ph.D. (8/24/06)

Our language is full of coded phrases which almost require a cryptographer to decipher them. Perhaps, the most common is the phrase “she meant well” which is code for “she messed up.” Nowadays, “he’s trying to kick the drug habit” means “he’s an habitual drug addict.” The words “try” or “attempt” are code words for lack of intention. “I’m trying to find a job” means “I’m hanging around.” “I’m trying to go straight” means “I intend to remain untrustworthy.” “I’ll try to come to your party” means “I won’t show up.”

“Struggling with addiction” is another coded phrase, meaning someone is a drug addict. The phrase “a victim of addiction” suggests that the addict didn’t decide to use narcotics but rather that the narcotics, as perpetrators, used them and forced them into servitude, much like “the Devil made me do it.” In a secular age it is no longer fashionable to blame supernatural powers for human failure. Now, the fashion is psycho-babble in the service of evasion.

The modern propensity for the language of code and evasion infiltrates all of society. Calls from Washington for “staying the course” mean “repeating the same old failure.” “Not cutting and running” means “the situation is deteriorating.” These are code phrases used by politicians who can’t think of anything better to do than encourage people to support the politicians’ failures. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” should read “If at first you don’t succeed, try something else,” like electing different politicians.

Copyright © Dana Prom Smith 2006

PINE CANYON
The Rev. Dana Prom Smith, S.T.D., Ph.D. (7/25/06)

Curious about the rustications of the rich and famous, a friend wanted to see Pine Canyon. After we promised not to step outside of our automobile for fear of desecrating consecrated ground, a pleasantly agreeable young man allowed us to drive around the development.

With its ponds and rolling greens, Pine Canyon’s winding roads brought to mind the famous Forest Lawn cemeteries in Southern California. The landscaper at Pine Canyon seems to have drawn his inspiration from them, just as many architects of public buildings draw their inspiration from Sing Sing.

As with Forest Lawn, Pine Canyon has a funereal feeling, large houses on relatively small lots with no human interaction taking place in the spaces between the houses. It is not a lively joint, no sound of children at play, no neighbors chewing the rag over the back fence, no sidewalk passersby, no free radicals having coffee at Macy’s, no religious nut bags bent on converting the hapless. A realtor’s dream, it’s an empty picture-postcard perfection without a trace of human contamination. Without sidewalks Pine Canyon is not pedestrian friendly.

The houses and outbuildings resemble cemetery architecture, mausoleums modeled after Attic Greek temples. Only the models aren’t Greek, but rock and log cabins of western American circa 1850. Sorry no sod huts. As a pricey retreat, Pine Canyon doesn’t have cabins, merely the pretentious kitsch of mansions set in sterile splendor. The result is the architectural oxymoron of elegant rustic, a new frontier in bad taste.

Copyright © Dana Prom Smith 2006