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Separating Sentiment From The Sentimental
Whenever I hear people declare their love for one another on television, I usually find myself nauseated and disgusted. This isn’t because of sour grapes, or distaste for the program I happen to be watching at the time, it irritates me because it is usually nothing more than sentimental rubbish. Before I am pilloried for this thought, let me assure you, I value Sentiment, but not the Sentimental.
With few exceptions, the scenario of declared love on television or in films is usually a toothless decision. Love in this case is as deep as the phrase on a chocolate wrapper, and lasts as long as the chocolate does. It reflects a confusion in our own minds as to the differences between Sentiment and the Sentimental. Though used interchangeably, the two words represent different ideologies competing for your attention and your hard earned dollars.
To illustrate the point look at your own friends and family. If there’s a tragedy in your life, there will be some friends and family members who will offer their condolences and only that. There will be others who when they offer their regrets also ask if there’s anything they can do to help, and they mean it. Words are cheap, action is expensive.
Virtue Signaling
The Sentimental is a pastiche of Sentiment, the idea without the meaning to back it…
