N … No!

NO!

‘No!’ is a very positive word. It says what it means, with no room for evasion or misunderstanding. It is a word of principle. Usually it is a conservative word; liberals tend toward ‘Yes?’.

“Yes’ is also positive, but it lacks the strength of ‘No!’. ‘No!’ braces its shoulders, drops into a pose of determined defiance. ‘No!’ can be beaten to the ground, but it will rise again to continue the fight. ‘No!’ is a stop sign, a boundary marker, a decision to hold ground.

“No!’ is out of fashion. It is looked on as impolite, negative, unhelpful. It is politically incorrect. But avoiding ‘No!’ tacitly permits everything, and much of ‘everything’ is undesirable.

‘No!’ invites confrontation. “No!’ is plain speaking, and it should be met by equally plain speaking from the opposing camp. Plain speaking, argument, comparison of facts, unhampered discussions lead eventually to agreement; even if it is only agreement to disagree, both positions are understood and respected.

‘Yes’ has its uses too. ‘Yes’ offers cooperation, opens new doors, favors progress. But ‘yes’ is tentative where ‘No!’ is firm. Consider this: ‘yes-man’ is a derogatory term but ‘no-man’ is never heard. A person who says ‘No!’ has belief, a person who says ‘Yes’ has hope; both are desirable but belief is stronger than hope. I like ‘No!’, so hang me.

‘Maybe’ is a villainous word. A compromiser, a weasel, a collaborator, a shape-shifter, a traitor, a back-slider, a temporizer, a procrastinator, a deceiver. A word for statisticians and gamblers and the ignorant. At best, a temporary word, used as a stepping-stone towards either ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

Enough! ‘Nuff said! No more!

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Also find these older posts…
A … Angst
B … Brag
C … Clowder
D … Down
E … Errors
F … Folly
G … Global
H … Huh?
I … Immigrants
J … Jet
K … King
L … Lunch
M … Moby