What is 'change'?

February 29, 2008 11:50 am

— The editor:
Change. That seems to be one of the magic words thrown about on the national political scene today. This single word has the power to excite people—even to the point of fainting at the mere appearance of a “change-agent.”
With so much excitement over “change,” I thought it behooved me to check my dictionary. There I found several meanings, including: “To cause to be different, alter, abandon, and to go from one phase to another.”
As I sit before my computer composing this letter there is a change taking place outside my house. It has changed from cloudy to rain. And, according to the weather report, another change is to take place this evening—from rain to freezing rain. Now that is change, but in the minds of most of us it’s not good change. Cloudy is OK. Rain is OK. Even a little snow wouldn’t be too bad. But not freezing rain.
According to the Weather Channel there will be another change in a few days—to a little sunshine and warmer. Now I consider that good change. So—isn’t it fair to say that change can be either good or bad?
Therefore, when someone—especially a politician—keeps harping on “change,” I would like to ask for some specifics. For example, if this person has in mind “to cause to be different,” I want to know what is going to be different, and in what way. If the same person intends to “alter” something, please let me know what he/she is going to alter. Is it the Constitution or the carpet in the Oval Office? If this candidate plans to “abandon” something, please let me know before I vote.
During the days of Old Testament Israel the people clamored for a king—they wanted “change” (1 Samuel 8:5). They wanted to change their government from God-rule to man-rule. God warned them of the consequences (1 Samuel 8:9-18). They insisted, God relented, and they paid the price. There is nothing new about people learning lessons the hard way.
My dictionary gives another definition for “change”: “To exchange for or replace by another, usually of the same kind or category.” Could this be the real message of those promising so much “change”?
It seems to this writer that a wise course for a voter is to ask the one promising all this “change”: “Please explain “change.”
George C. Stewart
Owingsville