Nov 11
Greatness has lost its greatness.
Greatness has lost its greatness.It is not a word I want to use any longer.
Back in the days, greatness used to mean something.
Back in the days, greatness was not used so loosely.
No one was called great unless they did something that the World could not ignore.
No one was called great until they left something the World could explore. Â
To be great meant you had influence.
You were great because you had presence.
Alexander the Great; Jesus Christ of Nazareth; The Prophet Mohammed; These are men whose influence the World felt long after they were gone. Their lives helped shape the World as we have come to know it.
History tells of many other great people whose influence and acts amongst other men could not be ignored. They may not have been perfect men and women but they stood to be counted.
Martin Luther King Jnr, El Hajj Malik El Shabbazz, Kwame Nkrumah,  Gani Fawehinmi but to mention a few etc
And we really do not have to look into the past to recognise greatness. We are fortunate to still have living amongst us today some great men and women whose lives generations unborn will celebrate.
These great people, whether living or dead, earned the right to be called great by the kind of lives they lived.
Some laid down their lives so that many might live; others laid down many lives so their ideologies and beliefs could live.
This is why I cannot understand why this generation has so belittled such a …great word
We seem accursed with a need to outdo one another in adjectives.
We no longer speak English; we converse in superlatives.
Now I do not know what words like ‘amazing’, ‘fantastic’ really mean anymore.Â
Words like awesome which, when I heard for the first time, was used to describe how great GOD is, is now used to describe how yummy a hotdog feels
The other day, a friend of mine said she met this ‘great’ guy and she couldn’t stop talking about how he had a great smile, spoke in a great way, walked like a King, and how he did so many ‘mundane’ things, well, great . A few days after, this ‘great’ guy had become a ‘great jerk’. She realised that everything she called ‘great’ about him was all part of a routine aimed at tapping her ‘great ass’.
To hear the word great attached to words such as ass, breasts and sometimes even to a beautiful word such as smile, is an abuse of the word.
Greatness is what everyone should aspire to even if not everyone will achieve. Sometimes, greatness even lies in trying, I have come to see.
Greatness, I have also come to realize, is often about sacrifice; placing others needs before yours and making their lives better.
Mother Theresa and Mama Ekundayo, these women did not lead any troupe to battle, but they battled and won the fight for human dignity and with that touched generations yet unborn.
So excuse me if I do not bellow with excitement when you point out those ‘great legs’ or if I am mellow when you talk about ‘what a great party’ you had’, I am only mourning the death of greatness and several other words that used to mean something
19 Comments so far
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my broda, u dey vex sha…but i totally feel you on that one
I totally understand your feelings.
Lol. Interesting. I’d never actually thought about it like this before. Gives me something to think about.
Like Tupac said, ‘we dont need anymore entertainers, we need more thinkers’ cuz only thinkers make greatness
Great! Good thinking, nice read but i feel same words could convey different meanings & well, enormities, Jesus was, is & will forever be great not in the way Obafemi Awolowo was a great man or your good self a great writer, father cum advertising person, when i say Obama is a great man i do not put him on the same pedestal as a Mr. Biodun Shobanjo who also is a great man, pal greatness hasn’t lost its greatness, we probably are finding fewer examples of great references but greatness still got it!
Baroque…where have u been man? Good to know u r back.
Ms O… Been a while. How have u been. Thot u left too.
isha… whattagwan? Thanks for stopping by. How have u been?
Afronuts…I am feeling what u r doing at urs man. Keep up the good work!
Oloye…I agree completely with you that a word could convey a variety of meanings depending on how it is used, however, what I was trying to say is not that we do not have great people any more but that we tend to associate that word with things that tend to devalue it.
I feel “great” like many English words has several meanings, you may just be applying one of it meanings. Check out these other English dictionary meanings:
Great 1
Definition: Large in space; of much size; big; immense; enormous; expanded; opposed to small and little; as, a great house, ship, farm, plain, distance, length.
Great 2
Definition: Large in number; numerous; as, a great company, multitude, series, etc.
Great 3
Definition: Long continued; lengthened in duration; prolonged in time; as, a great while; a great interval.
Great 4
Definition: Superior; admirable; commanding; applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings.
Great 5
Definition: Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty; noble; as, a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, etc.
Great 6
Definition: Holding a chief position; elevated: lofty: eminent; distingushed; foremost; principal; as, great men; the great seal; the great marshal, etc.
Great 7
Definition: Entitled to earnest consideration; weighty; important; as, a great argument, truth, or principle.
Great 8
Definition: Pregnant; big (with young).
Great 9
Definition: More than ordinary in degree; very considerable in degree; as, to use great caution; to be in great pain.
Great 10
Definition: The whole; the gross; as, a contract to build a ship by the great.
great 11
Definition: marked by active interest and enthusiasm; “an avid sports fan”; “a great walker”; “an eager beaver”
great 12
Definition: very good; “he did a bully job”; “a neat sports car”; “had a great time at the party”; “you look simply smashing”
great 13
Definition: more than usual; “great expectations”; “great worry”
great 14
Definition: (used of persons) standing above others in character or attainment or reputation; “our distinguished professor”; “an eminent scholar”; “a great statesman”
great 15
Definition: relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind; “a great juicy steak”; “a great multitude”; “the great auk”; “a great old oak”; “a great ocean liner”; “a great delay”
great 16
Definition: uppercase; “capital A”; “great A”; “many medieval manuscripts are in majuscule script”
great 17
Definition: of major significance or importance; “a great work of art”; “Einstein was one of the outstanding figures of the 20th century”
great 18
Definition: remarkable or out of the ordinary in degree or magnitude or effect; “a great crisis”; “had a great stake in the outcome”
I think you focused on the 5th definition while the lady in your story used definition 12.
i totally agree with you bro….never thot a ‘great’ word like GREATNESS would become so shallow. i’m just as guilty as the rest of the world. Then again, if you really think about it, you’ll see that people don’t talk the way they used to before. Words are so often used entirely out of context and meaning is often lost…welcome to the 21st century where cheap talk has replaced eloquence.
i totally agree with you. sometimes its like we are afflicted with an urge to make every little thing to be the best thing since God created man, only for us to realise that its just a fly-by-night.
people nowadays also have a lot of avenues a la facebook, tweeter, blogville and the whole gamut of social networking sites; to proclaim their foolishness without a thot of how right-thinking people would take it.
well said black james bond
no vex……..come take biscuit………
I feel you on this, but no vex because things will get a lot worse before they ever get better.
How are you and the fam? Hope all is well.
Patrick Sanni, you get time oh…LOL
Hmmmm….this stimulated a journey to go search for…..greatness…
…interesting…i find myself doing that, speaking in superlatives and sometimes wondering what i actually mean or how i distinguish a different experience…nice post…
Nice write-up , thanks for sharing…
I forgot what I wanted to say…Patrick Sanni you should have a blog.
I totally agree with you. The word has been devalued to every common.
It makes it worse when it is self acclaimed.
i also think greatness is relative, and it means different things to different people. what i will call mediocrity might be the height of greatness for someone else.
I agree with Patrick Sanni and Femme Lounge