Like: It is a simple word, but one that has come to almost define an era in American culture. I mean, why should a single word have such an excessive prominence in the English language? Not only is it, like, a bad influence on the way we view the opinions and information that we are actually, like, expressing, but it is, like, obnoxious to listen to.
A few days ago, I was sitting in class and had to listen to a classmate, who was making a very intelligent point, completely undermine herself because of the, like, plethora of, like, times that she used "like." It was almost impossible to actually listen to her because of, like, "like." Why are we so determined to appear, like, cool, or maybe just that laid back, that we don't, like, actually want to make it seem like we have any idea what we are talking about?
I mean, there is nothing actually wrong with the word "like." It is just that in excess it becomes, like, a hammer beating our brains with the, like, monotonous cacophony of, like, that one single word. I don't really remember when the word entered our common vocabulary, but it must have been a long time ago-"like" just seems like a staple of, like, junior high, and can't we, like, get over it?
I am not trying to put anyone down with this; I too have the same problem in my speech, and quite obviously, my writing. But is there no one else who reads a book, or watches a movie, and thinks, wouldn't it be nice to talk like that? We are after all at the "best college in the land," and shouldn't at least one of our goals be to elevate our thinking and the way we express ourselves? I certainly am not advocating a return to the days of "prithee" and "forsooth," but maybe coherent speech isn't too much to ask and should be an admirable goal in and of itself. Who is to say that college students, at least while they are arguing esoteric points in class, cannot be eloquent and well-spoken?