Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Weird Word of the Week: Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude is pleasure derived from the misfortune of others, or in plain old English, gloating.

It's an immature and mean response, of course. And Madame L wishes the Obama supporters who have been gloating over Romney's loss of this election would stop. Just stop. It makes you small and graceless and it demeans the man whose victory you are celebrating.

Can we celebrate without gloating? Yes, we certainly can. Here's one way to do it, exemplified by Pres. Obama himself in his victory speech:


     "I want to thank every American who participated in this election..... whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and you made a difference.

     "I just spoke with Governor Romney and I congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a hard-fought campaign.

     "We may have battled fiercely, but it's only because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its future. From George to Lenore to their son Mitt, the Romney family has chosen to give back to America through public service and that is the legacy that we honor and applaud tonight.

     "In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward...."

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