Saving the Lowercase "g"

Hello, America. I am the lowercase “g.” After the holidays, I am usually a happy sort. Congress returns from vacation, and my humble, seventh-place self is thrust back into the spotlight by the reintroduction into the national debate of words such as “gun” and “gay.” I bask. Or, I used to. Now I wonder if my somewhat self-centered attitude about the substance of congressional conversation blinded me to what was to come. Something that could destroy me. And you.

It began in the 2008 presidential race, when, in debates and stump speeches, candidates began to assert they were “thinkin’,” “talkin‘,” and “hopin.‘” At first I could not believe they were dropping me. Me, of “gun” and “gay”! I explained it away as fatigue due to a contentious battle for votes, but after the ballots were counted, it continued.