It's like, sooo extreme

Extreme. It would be hard to argue that this is not the most old and tired word of the last 10 to 15 years. It is constantly used to make something sound even more fun, radical or appealing than it used to be. Doesn't matter what it is referring to, call it extreme, and somehow it's more noteworthy.

I live in a city that actually has, and I'm not making this up, a large and successful car dealership called Extreme Motors. I swear. And this dealership must have a heavy sponsorship role in the local Indoor Football League team, because the name of our team is....yep, the Extreme. It's a freakin' car lot. Sponsoring a sometimes pretty decent Indoor Football League team. Yet, it's extreme. This is supposed to raise excitement levels over a car lot and a sports team few people care about? Ok, you get it. If it's referred to as extreme, that means it's another run of the mill thing.

That's why I was so amused this week by the adventures of the most honorable Senator Chuck Schumer from the great state of New York. If your paying any attention, you know that the good man got caught on a conference call that he didn't realize reporters were a part of as well. During this call, he revealed that he was directed by his caucus to always use the word extreme when referring to members of congress that had been elected with Tea Party support. The topic was the impending federal government shutdown over the budget dispute.(How much will that save us even if they shut down for, say 36 hours?) He outlined, in general, how they would easily blame the shutdown on the opposing party by painting them as extremists.(See statements this week by Howard Dean).

I have to insert this here. When there is a government shutdown, we are always told that non-essential personel were sent home, and non-essential services have been suspended. My question is...if they are non-essential, why do they exist in the first place? Sorry, once again, I digress.

Other questions. When did expecting our elected representatives to actually be responsive to the people who employ them, become extreme?
When did a desire to keep more of what one earns become extreme?
When did a desire to freely choose to distribute what one earns charitably become extreme?
When did the desire to hold our elected representatives to act in accordance with the Constitution of the United States of America become extreme?(That same Constitution that history has proven to be the most brilliant political document ever conceived and enacted upon). Oh yeah, and that same Constitution that they all took an oath to uphold.

Ok, I know you all know where I'm going here. Extreme has become nothing more than everyday, regular stuff. And most Americans will nod their heads in concurrence with the above stated basic ideas. So, obviously, it's Schumer and his like minded bretheren that are out of touch. Fortunately, for the rest of us, we have an election coming in only 20 short months. Let's hope and pray that it isn't too late.