"We ARE x !"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Related:

Some years ago an episode of _The Simpsons_ concerned a crush Lisa had
developed on a substitute teacher. When he left at the end of the
story, he consoled a weeping Lisa with a note for her to read in times
of trouble.

The note said "I am Lisa Simpson."  Sweet music. Fade-out.

This must have been suggested by some self-help movement, but what exactly?

JL

On Thu, Nov 17, 2011 at 8:59 AM, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "We ARE x !"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> "We are the World" was recorded in 1985.
>
> Coincidence?:
>
> 1956  J. Krishnamurti _Commentaries on Living: Third Series_
> (rpt.1967: Wheaton, Ill.: Quest) 78: As you say, the world is of our
> own making; the world is us and we are the world. To change the world
> we must change ourselves....Regeneration must therefore begin with
> ourselves.
>
> JL
>
> On Wed, Nov 16, 2011 at 8:44 PM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: "We ARE x !"
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Just to be clear--there IS a reduced version--"We ARE 99%!"
>>
>> Two more points of reference. If we go back far enough, we get "We are
>> the World!" song, although that clearly had a different stress pattern.
>>
>> On the other hand, there is a current series of Farmers Insurance
>> commercials that includes the phrase, "We ARE insurance," followed by a
>> "We are Farmers!" jingle.
>>
>>     VS-)
>>
>>> I know, I know--it does not sound as romantic once you insert the
>>> article...
>>>
>>>     VS-)
>>>
>>> On 11/16/2011 4:04 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>>>> News reports over the past several days have occasionally included
>>>> Penn State students both defending and deploring legendary coach Joe
>>>> Paterno as well as offering gestures of goodwill to the alleged
>>>> victims of Jerry Sandusky.
>>>>
>>>> The sudents can be heard chanting or emphatically asserting as
>>>> individuals, "We ARE Penn State!"  I'm not sure what that's supposed
>>>> to mean beyond, "Harken to us!"
>>>>
>>>> A few years ago, "We ARE Virginia Tech!" was the refrain of an alleged
>>>> poem by Nikki Giovanni, written in the wake of an even worse
>>>> situation. It seemed to mean, "We of VT are strong enough to get
>>>> through absolutely anything unfazed."
>>>>
>>>> Both of these usages seemed familiar, but how?
>>>>
>>>> In another one of those epiphanous moments, I suddenly recalled that
>>>> 1976 film _Taxi Driver_ ("You talkin' to  me? You talkin' to *me*?
>>>> Well, you must be talkin' to me, 'cause I'm the only one here!")
>>>> featured a slick political candidate, target of the insane Travis
>>>> Bickel, who was running on the slogan "We ARE the People!"   (Cf. "We
>>>> ARE the 99%!" )
>>>>
>>>> The irony seemed to be that the slogan in the film was utterly vapid.
>>>> It reminded me of the equally inane, but seriously intended, "Nixon's
>>>> the One!" of 1968.
>>>>
>>>> Moral: yesterday's inanity, today's inspiration.
>>>>
>>>> JL
>>>
>>
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>
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