Friday, January 5, 2018

Words gone south : oenophile and multihyphenate



   I wonder if the global world has seen the end of what used to be know as civilized living.
   We were once a society producing great thinkers who were also bon vivants dedicated to enjoying the world of pleasures afforded to those living well.
   In the 20th century there were individuals who were regularly described as oenophile and multihyphenate.
  And others who strived to enter that privileged class were encouraged to sharpen their intellect and associate themselves with the trappings of living well, they sought to be conjoined into a mutually rewarding association.
   All of the currently associated with an oenophile and multihyphenate reputation are now either of a certain age or have already been celebrated within the obits of The New York Times in 2017,  but for yet another year since Jeff Bezos bought the Washington D. C. based newspaper, leading left leaning political thinkers and shakers who have perished in our time are more prominently featured in The Washington Post.
   Therein lies the cavernous separation of a different emphasis that leaves the oehophile and multihyphenate to the wayside in this new era of emphasis on chosen moralities and left of center political affiliations versus those with any other bent.

   I must admit that I miss the celebration of living well and collecting fine wines as a way of lifting out of the morass of daily life where survival is paramount in a world that is just ordinary instead of extraordinary.
   It occurs to me that the major print media now emphasizes stories about the ordinary person who is suffering under the yoke of those who have accumulated wealth who are not supporting a life where “musts” are set forth as government mandated.

   What is missing in the unexceptional start of this 21st century is the magic of possibilities that exists in all of us to be a multihyphenate living well in the manner of the oenophile, but perhaps 2018 will herald a change back to living in a world where appreciation of the finer things in life is something to strive for.





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