Have you noticed how everything is now a “crisis”? That is—as found in a dictionary—“a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.” “Crisis” is the word of choice for pundit and publisher alike. We have
• A healthcare crisis…
• An education crisis…
• A gun crisis…
• A constitutional crisis…
• A (fill in the blank) foreign policy crisis…
• A housing crisis…
• A homeless crisis…
• A trade crisis…
• An infrastructure crisis…
• A childcare crisis…
• A climate crisis…
• A budget crisis
This, of course is complete nonsense. None of these are a crisis that presents us with a time of “intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.”
We have many challenges that are difficult, but they are not “intense”. We face trouble and danger, neither of which are intense in any regard. So, why do people use the word “crisis” to characterize the issues we face in America?
Because they are apparently unable to understand or clearly define contemporary challenges intelligently. That would require both time and thought. Indeed, when you’re in a world of 144 characters or one that allows only 15 to 30 seconds of on-air time to describe a complex problem, calling things a “crisis” is an attention-grabber that presumes that the listener is shallow enough to agree that “X” is in fact a crisis. Moreover, calling things a “crisis” serves as intellectual shorthand to avoid justifying an issue as “a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.” It’s indicative or both lazy and irresponsible minds.
Here’s the good news. I think that most people outside the beltway are so overexposed to the ubiquitous usage of the word “crisis” that they’ve stopped paying attention. If everything is a crisis, nothing is…
PS: Immigration and the border is as near an “intense difficulty” as I can see these days…so fix it…
