BTW, LWTC. OMG! LOL!!

In the days before computers, those of us who worked at AT&T and interfaced with the public had to be able to pick up a customer’s record and understand previous conversations on a particular problem or inquiry.  BTW (by the way) phone calls were not only monitored but manually recorded in a ‘he said/she said’ fashion.  ORLY (oh, really?) you ask.

To be successful at both of those things we were taught a type of shorthand.  I’m SRS (serious).  LWTC meant ‘left word to call’ which indicated that a representative tried to get in touch with the consumer.  Even the language of writing up an order involved cryptic abbreviations.  T&F was a work order for someone who was moving (to & from), I was an installation order and D was disconnect.   We did not know we were a precursor to the electronic age of talking. Some of you may have a SMH (shake my head) response.  LOL (laugh out loud).

OMG (oh my god), DYK (did you know) 92% of the people in the US who participated in a 2011 poll answered ‘yes’ to ‘do you believe in God?’  That was the lowest response since this particular poll started in 1944 when the positive response was 96%.  This most recent poll however added another question, ‘do you believe in a universal spirit?’  With that tweak, the percentage climbs to 98%, with 86% clarifying ‘God’ and 12%, the ‘universal spirit.’  Does this KYSO (knock your socks off)?

IIRC (if I remember correctly) there was a mandate in my confirmation class that we could not say ‘damn’ because, as a shortened version of ‘goddamn’ we would be braking the commandment of ‘no using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter.  God won’t put up with the irreverent use of his name.’ (The Message, the Bible in contemporary language, 2006) Now, as a recovering fundamentalist, ICYMI (in case you missed it - see blog post We've All Got Issues of May 13, 2013), it still takes a lot of aggravation for me to swear and my irritation vocabulary is limited.

So, in my lifetime I’ve seen a shift from you can’t even say ‘damn’ to a socially accepted and promoted use of god on twitter by one and all, believers and even non-believers, I imagine.  There is a disconnect here that perplexes me.  In all the fights for social justice and rights and often on both sides of an issue, AFAIK (as far as I know) the church at large has not fought for or spoken out against this shift in language.   Making faith relevant to daily life is the role of the church, but helping define that life is important too.

Over the weekend I saw Legally Blonde, the Musical.  It was a fun evening and the performers did well.  The opening number is "Omigod, You Guys." NBD (no big deal) for some or NCT (nobody cares, though).  Does the common use diminish God’s image or make God more accessible?  Call me a prude, mark me shocked, but IMHO (in my humble opinion) the preponderance of OMG makes me cringe just a little and makes me pause. And muse.  TYT (take your time) to consider the issue and PLMK (please let me know).

Well, CUL8R (see you later).  BR (best regards)

Marilyn