New Moon Edition July 2023
Normative
Normal. A cool word to think about. What does it mean, really?
In my town, there’s a Normal Street. What must it be like to live there? Can we suppose that by default a residence there is typical? Life itself exactly at the mean?
A normal school was a teacher’s college, the first of which, the École Normale, was founded in 1685 in Reims, Champagne, France (HERE). We can’t vouch for the quality of the education but no doubt at graduation the toasts were plentiful and sublime.
Defaulting to the norm suggests the tried and true, the pathway, a state defined by tradition, duration, maybe even inevitability. What we see around us is just the way it is. Nothing to be done except accept it. It’s the nature of the beast. It’s normal.
Normal is placid, benign, boring because undisturbed is better than worked up and we’ve agreed we like it this way. That doesn’t mean it has to be that way, merely that it’s easier to leave it alone than to change it.
Habitual
A habit is something done repeatedly, as in, according the Merriam-Webster: a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior. Also, an acquired behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary (HERE). That one is perhaps more germane to this discussion. Something so usual as to be normal. At least to the habituator.
Habit derives from the Latin word habēre, as do habitat and perhaps haberdashery, to wander farther afield, in that the literal meaning refers to “the mode of one’s being” and often was referring “to the mode of dress” (HERE), as in what you see is what you get, one supposes.
I saw an article the other day that made me think of these things. It was a list of several very weird things we’ve come to accept as normal. Unfortunately, It was one of those Apple News feeds and can’t be shared because those folks in Cupertino need the money god knows and so it’s pay-walled. Talk about habits.
Among the weirdnesses cited though were the great disparity of material wealth and security between us; the loss of healthcare if you lose your job; hunger in a country where tons of food daily are allowed to rot; the persistent belief in the zero-sum where there simply isn’t enough for everyone and some therefore inevitably must suffer.
It reminded me once again about why it’s critical we refuse to accept things that simply aren’t right. All those weird things that through the blunt force of repetition become habituated in our daily lives and our social order. If we don’t resist them, if we quit calling attention to them as unnecessary and unacceptable, they quickly become normal, habitual, even the mode of one’s being.
Differential
A difference or the amount of difference, as in rate, cost, quantity, degree, or quality, between things that are comparable (HERE). As you might have noticed, I love dictionaries, words, their roots, all those aspects of language and its compilation. This definition encompasses the multiple aspects of a question I have for you.
My newsletter has come your way at the new and full moon for the past two years. A few issues back, I mentioned my frustration with Mailchimp and the likelihood I’d be finding a new venue for this communication. Voila! Substack rose to the top of the pile of contenders.
Why? It’s a great place for writers and readers, among which we are. If you have friends who like to read, Substack makes it easy to share with them. Please do! I’d love to expand my readership.
It’s also very aggressively structured to support writers and position them to publish their work in ways that encourage some remuneration from the readers. Much to my surprise and appreciation, some of you already have responded. Thank you!
My question is how much is too much when it comes to receiving a writer’s work? Will the every fourteen day rhythm of the past be upsetting to you if additional material – articles, short stories, serial memoir and novels – is sent your way now and then?
On the one hand, it’s easy enough to simply delete if it’s not of interest that particular day. On the other hand, I wouldn’t want you to unsubscribe from my newsletter rather than endure more of my writing. I’m wrestling with how to handle this urge to publish through this new venue and the need to identify the boundary that can’t be crossed without shrinking the audience. Thinking about balancing eggs you might say.