The Price of Rice in China

My mama used to say this expression when I was a kid "what's that got to do with the price of rice in China."   That expression made about as much sense to me as whatever it was that I had said that obviously did not make sense for my mom to use that quizzical expression.  For one I only liked rice with my Sweet N Sour Chicken and two I did not know the price of anything, let alone rice in China.

Really this blog has nothing to do with rice or the price of it in China or anywhere else.  But this expression brings to the forefront an interesting idea.  Do we really know what we say?  Language has always intrigued me, maybe that is why I moonlight as a part-time blogger.  That being said I have been just as guilty as everyone else of loosely tossing around expressions that I have no idea what they mean or where they come from.  Or worse yet, just dumb expressions.  There was one summer in high school that everything I said started with the words "Dude, man..."  I wish I was kidding about that but no.  Literally the first words that left my mouth before anything intelligent or even semi-coherent were pre-fixed with "Dude, man..."

Maybe it is the season that we are in that drives my thinking right now.  It is Presidential election season.   What I have always found most disheartening about this whole process is the fact that we have to cut someone else down to build the other up.  In this battle for the world's most powerful office, it is never about how good the candidate is and why you should vote for him.  It is mostly about how much the other guy sucks.  I guess I am a little like my mom, "what's that got to do with the price of rice in China?"  When has my dislike for the other option been the deciding factor in my pick on anything?  Oh I hate Taco Bell, I better go to McDonald's.  Thanks McD's for reminding my hate for Nachos Grande and leading right to a Big Mac. This thinking only make sense in the political realm.  

Okay, off my soapbox and onto something more beneficial.  So here is the thought that centers this whole thing, because it is true does it have to be said?  At what point do we place a guard on our tongue at the benefit of guarding another's heart?  Mama also said "loose lips sink ships."  In my day I have sank my fair share of battleships. Maybe as we watch others sling mud and launch missiles we should become more aware of our words.  Just maybe the price of rice in China is more important that I ever realized.