Less is more?

 Late one Saturday morning, I brought ten 2nd grade Girl Scouts into my house to construct their individually designed Christmas sweatshirts.  They were spaced around around two large tables with their own WHITE sweatshirt spread on the table in front of their chair.  Rows of squirt acrylic and sparkle paint lined the center of the table - to be shared.  Good idea?  In retrospect, there was not one sound morsel of common sense exhibited in this plan.   I was just starting to learn, on so many levels, of the flaws in my plan.

Soon , the paint was flying, Christmas carols were being sung, the girls were having a wonderful time, and my anxiety level was increasing as I moved from girl to girl.  The designs were colorful, glittery, and ambitious.  The girls believed a thicker stream of paint was better than a thin or subtle line.  I had visions of them being covered in paint, despite being well protected with oversized shirts.  We also worried about smudging their design and being able to get the shirts dry before Christmas.  So, I announced: "Girls, remember less is better than more."  Silence.  Then I heard the question from one of the heads bent over their precious shirts,  "Mrs. W, what do you mean by less and how do you define more?"

Great questions.  I knew at that moment - their shirts would survive but I had a lot to learn.  Ultimately, the girls had fun, the shirts dried for days in my garage, and most shirts were happily sported throughout the Christmas season.  

Here we are almost 30 years later and the wise-beyond-her-years question has nagged me throughout. I had no business using the terms with a 2nd grader. More importantly, the use of more and less is very subjective.  My perception of paint quantities will always be very different than that of a 7-8 yr old. All these years later, I still realize that there are no steadfast definitions for less and more, as they represent the reality of the user.  Those receiving the message apply their own filter to the statement.  

Less, more, too, very - the list could go on and on.  Our language has evolved to a point when the usage of nebulous adjectives, adverbs, pronouns and more are used as a way to state the users perception.  We are basically editorializing the world around us as we progress through our day.  We believe we are strengthening or weakening a statement for the listener with their usage, but in actuality we are promoting our own opinion.  One of my biggest bug-a-boos that I hear often - he/she is too nice. Or how about, he/she is too smart.  Seriously?  

I heard you - little Christmas Girl Scout.  I have tried to curtail my use of unnecessary descriptors throughout the years. Your questions are now needed for the general masses of Americans who rely too much (see what I did there?) on the steady stream of facts, turned opinion, throughout each day.  If an effort was put forth to deliver facts only perhaps the polarization that is shaping our relationships would subside.  If people could just take a moment to realize all of the sweatshirts can be beautiful if viewed through the right set of filters.