Too many words have few remnants of their original meanings these days. Gay, sick, ill, dope, filthy, tight, tweet, chill -- even the word word itself -- mean something other than what you might think. It's hard to keep up, but because I have a young son who stands neck-deep in today's oozing cultural quicksand, I usually have some idea of what things mean just from talking with him. But there is one word I simply don't understand today: Friend. It used to mean someone you could count on, a like-minded person who shared your life and your values, who wanted things to go well for you, who would do you a favor and could expect you would do one in return if asked. But now, thanks in part to Facebook, even the entire concept has been all but eradicated. Being a "friend" is almost a joke. I suppose it now means something along the lines of, "A person I once heard of who has also heard of me." And for some reason, having lots of these is seen as a good thing, although I can't imagine why.
This morning, it being rainy and bleak and buggy outside and my husband gone for a few hours, and being too tired to do much of anything else, I scrolled through Facebook and looked at the pages of friends from long ago. There they were, all smiling and still alive, except for the dead ones although even a couple of those still are active on Facebook. I remembered the good times we shared, and then of course that final bad time that ended the friendship once and for all. I saw people who I knew always disliked each other but still were "friends'" on Facebook. I saw people I know who have hundreds, even thousands, of Facebook "friends," knowing that they feel very alone despite that silliness.
To be honest, it's a sad evolution of our language. We need a new word for what "friend" once meant.
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