The Missing Elephant in the Room

On Saturday, September 1, the Washington National Cathedral was the center of a memorial service for Senator John McCain, a Republican from Arizona. In the audience were senators, former senators, congressmen, congresswomen, three former presidents, three former vice presidents, current and former officials of the United States, and of course, members of John McCain's family. I suppose the assemblage totaled some 3000. The elephant in the room was the missing elephant in the room, for no matter how hard you looked among those 3000, someone was missing. Now you've got to admit, an elephant is not easy to overlook, even, or perhaps especially, among 3000 people. But if this particular elephant were with the 3000 people in the cathedral, he would taint the 3000. This is an elephant who doesn't fit in with people who, no matter their shortcomings, believe in some overall decency and rule of law. He is an elephant who believes the United States of America is about him and not about the tens of millions of Americans who have come here from elsewhere for centuries to form a great nation. This elephant chooses to divide people in any way imaginable. This is an elephant who brought the circus to town and stayed. But we all know about the smell a circus brings along too, and the stench brought by this elephant has permeated some of the nation's great institutions. This elephant was not in the Washington National Cathedral because Senator McCain did not want this elephant to foul the air of the memorial service. This elephant was not invited. 

Condolences to the McCain family and may you rest in peace, Senator McCain....

WORD HISTORY:
Eulogy-This compound word goes back to Indo European "hwes," which had the meaning, "good," and Indo European "leg," which had the idea, "to gather, to select, to choose." The first gave transliterated Ancient Greek "eu/eus," which meant, "good." The second gave transliterated Ancient Greek "legein," which meant, "to speak" (from the idea of "select/gather words"). This produced Greek "logia," with the basic meaning, "something said;" thus also, "a subject or theme." Together the parts gave transliterated Greek "eulogia," meaning, "good words;" thus, "praise," and in Christianity, "a blessing." The word was borrowed into English in the 1400s, "perhaps" more from Latin, which had taken on the word more from original New Testament writings (which were in Greek)."