Talking in clichés, thinking in generalities: Not just a bad habit
By Charlotte B. Cerminaro
web posted November 3, 2025
Last week while responding to a few emails I found myself a little irritated, not by the task itself but by my own careless choice of words. Many common phrases used in both formal and casual communication are fairly benign in their intent, but they are clichés and, at the very least, they represent a lack of individuality, thought or care. Consider the phrase, "Thank you for your patience" - spoken by those directly responsible for a problem that affects other people - it may just be one of the most pretentious and controlling remarks in use today. More than once this particular cliché has sparked my own candid response: "It takes some effort to maintain civil discourse with you, to not show my annoyance…please do not, ever, mistake this for patience." Generalities and clichés are also presumptive, a means of qualifying authentic responses, trivializing context, and language has become rather opaque as these enter our lexicon.
In critical situations where clarity and accuracy are paramount, any distortion or omission changes the entire message - essentially robbing information of its meaning, power and purpose. Gleaning the facts from a report that is brimming with generalities, saturated in innuendo and code words, is an improbable task. To use a well-worn phrase - I'd say we have a failure to communicate - is more than an understatement. According to Oxford educated British journalist and political analyst Melanie Phillips, the overall lack of clarity is nothing less than an existential threat.
Second only to President John F. Kennedy's words on government secrecy, Melanie Phillips' short speech on the Israel/Hamas conflict - specifically analyzing how key information has been distorted, trivialized, creating a clear and present danger to global stability and human rights, must give pause to every sentient being. If nothing else, the facts testify to an undeniable truth that is conveniently overlooked by mass media and academia.
The UN has classified Hamas as a militant terrorist network. For a thousand years the world was unclear as to the ideology and intentions of a not- insignificant portion of those who call themselves "Islamist". The brutal and massive October 7 attack was the result of a grievous error - the entire western world (and high-ranking IDF leaders) presuming like-minded democratic self-interests among the Hamas-led government. Instead of acting on good intel and authentic experience, they were thinking in generalities, listening to bureaucratic clichés.
On 13 October 2025, 20 remaining civilian hostages captured and held by Hamas for 730 days were finally returned in exchange for 2,058 militants being held in Israeli prisons. The hostages were innocent of any crime or wrongdoing; without exception, those prisoners released by Israel were all guilty of violence, atrocity, acts of terror and criminal conspiracy. Malnourished and showing signs of significant abuse such as unset broken bones, there is a disturbing impression that those Israeli hostages spent 730 days in concentration camps. In contrast, recent images of the imprisoned terrorists appeared well-nourished, free of any significant injuries or abuse.
Exchanging lives at a rate of over 1,000 to 1, a simple mathematical valuation surely underestimates the high price that some individuals place on life. There is yet another story befitting this topic, one that is free of political slogans, clichés or propaganda. To a civilization whose citizens do not think for themselves, the story is a haunting zeitgeist. As they all speak the same words, tell the same stories, refuse to confer with their own recent history - they cannot comprehend anything different. They have lost their way.
On August 21, 2013, former Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad attacked his own people by dropping sarin gas on several small villages, killing and injuring innocent civilians and families. Many thousands of injured and displaced Syrians fled, making the long trek directly to Israel's northern border. Why didn't they turn to other Arabs, other nations that share common borders with Syria? Was this an accident, or simply an odd coincidence? Camping adjacent to the DMZ, within hours Israeli border gates opened and supply vehicles delivered food, water and emergency supplies to the desperate Arabs. The injured were transported to Israeli hospitals for medical treatment. Endangered and exiled within their own country, these Syrian refugees found the only place in the world - and possibly the only nationality - that would most certainly show mercy and compassion, treating them as fellow humans.
That this astonishing piece of history seems to be so easily forgotten in all the clichés and generalities, or perhaps deliberately left untold, is a tribute to its authenticity. Nothing on this earth can diminish a story so deeply human, so poignant and real. Just as those of us who witnessed the events of 11 September will always remember certain details - individuals who transcended their mere earthly status and political differences - so will others remember those who, under immense pressure, made a truly remarkable decision to be authentic, and they slipped the bonds of a billion enemies…that they might find one friend. 
Charlotte B. Cerminaro is a Juilliard-trained classical musician and recording artist. In her free time she enjoys writing and regularly contributes to Enter Stage Right and she attained a Bachelor's Degree in Molecular Biology.
