Comments on: Dave Pollard: Need Less http://www.chrishardie.com/blog/2007/09/dave-pollard-need-less.html Personal Blog for James Christopher Hardie Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:13:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Jean http://www.chrishardie.com/blog/2007/09/dave-pollard-need-less.html#comment-44421 Jean Sun, 16 Sep 2007 23:22:19 +0000 http://www.chrishardie.com/weblog/archives/2007/09/dave-pollard-need-less.html#comment-44421 A long time ago I was with a friend and her teenage daughter and we ended up, not surprisingly, at the mall. The daughter (a kid I truly like) began prefacing every statement with "I need..." As in "I need those shoes; I need that magazine; I need that dress." Of course there was no "need" involved, and ever the English wonk, I pointed out that the verb she really meant to employ was "want" ... or even "appreciate" or "like." But need? There was no need of any of these things. I'm not sure I made a teenager happy that day, but really: maybe we should pay attention to the language we use. Need is one thing; want, crave, lust after...far different beasts. A long time ago I was with a friend and her teenage daughter and we ended up, not surprisingly, at the mall. The daughter (a kid I truly like) began prefacing every statement with "I need..." As in "I need those shoes; I need that magazine; I need that dress."

Of course there was no "need" involved, and ever the English wonk, I pointed out that the verb she really meant to employ was "want" ... or even "appreciate" or "like." But need? There was no need of any of these things. I'm not sure I made a teenager happy that day, but really: maybe we should pay attention to the language we use. Need is one thing; want, crave, lust after...far different beasts.

]]>