Photo by Kyle Ryan on Unsplash
I don’t use Heartlands to rant much, right? O yeah, there was that time. But, listen, there’s a new rhetorical bugaboo I need to brood about. I’m deeply concerned about ‘deeply.’
It’s not so much the adverb’s connection to words like ‘grateful’ and phrases like ‘I love you.’ It’s particularly problematic when it worms its way next to ‘problematic,’ as in: “I found the Kavanaugh hearings deeply problematic.” Defenders and opponents alike were throwing the ‘deeply’s around like Shriners throwing candy in a small-town parade. And for what?
Deeply is a feeling word. It’s useful, perhaps, when trying to describe an opera or a spiritual retreat. I suspect, however, that we’re reaching for it when we feel like ‘very’ just isn’t good enough.
If I find something ‘very problematic,’ you still are going to want to know more specifics from me to understand why, but you don’t have to deal with my emotions. You’re also probably not going to worry that something is going on at the core of my being. ‘Deeply problematic’ things ratchet up the stakes and force you to come to terms with something more essential in me that you may never be able to understand.
Can’t we have some discussions that don’t require ‘deeply’s? Or, for that matter, even some problems that are just that and not ‘problematic,’ a word that is only one step better than ‘problematize’ in the rankings of Words That Do Not Need to Exist? Why do all of our public disputes have to move to DEFCOM 1?
Don’t answer that. I’ve seen enough presidential tweets to know why.
But when we use such emotional constructions to substitute for really grappling with what makes us feel that way, we tend toward more polarization and less clarity. We hold onto a kind of knowing that begins in the inner twinge but never explore it enough to allow the twinge to emerge into thought. I just assume, because you’re in my tribe, that you feel it deeply, too, and therefore no more explanation is necessary. I also don’t allow those outside the tribe to understand the source of my twinges, which is the vital, intuitive self that would really like to see more light and find more connection.
Mark Twain was no fan of ‘deeply,’ or any other adverb to tell the truth. His standard advice was, “When you see an adverb, kill it.” Stephen King says “the road to hell is paved with adverbs.”
So, let’s make a start, call a spade a spade, and return ‘deeply’ to its proper place in purple prose. We could eliminate it altogether but that would be…well…wrong.
Southwest of Bethlehem, Daoud Nassar is the Director of Operations for his family farm, which is scattered over 100 acres on a hill with an enviable view.
But Palestinians have some hills as well. And though Israel worries about the security risk they would pose if the peace process ever results in an autonomous Palestinian state, the three hills I visited show some of the potential for what Palestine could be.
Also check out my book on the conflict: 
I was just getting ready to test out the brisket sausage when David Longoria sat down across the table from me as if we had known each other forever.
, but the pace of folks leaving has slowed, in part because employers here have recognized that their work force is imperiled and have begun to speak out.
Yes, we need border control.
On Easter Sunday…some thoughts from my first visit to Jerusalem in 2011…