Bush League

One of the things that delights me in this life is to be surprised by a new way to look at an old word. Yesterday’s New York Times crossword puzzle sent me a doozy. The date is October 23, 2007 if anyone wants to check.

The across clue read: 20. Amateurish

There were four squares, meaning I needed a four-letter word.

I was almost through the whole puzzle before I got it.

The answer was: B U S H

I burst out laughing. Then I sobered almost immediately.

The word amateur means one who loves. See the Latin root, amat, in there?

I looked up bush league in Wikipedia:

“Bush league is a general term used to describe an action or thing as being amateur, inferior or crude. In a literal sense, it refers to a low quality minor-league in baseball not associated with any of the major league teams. The term originated from the state of minor-league fields that often were ringed with shrubs and bushes."

There is a predominant Bush in the reality of the Western world at the moment, that being of the George W. Bush variety. The puzzle made me think of our Bush as being bush league when it comes to war. Amateurish. I think President Bush loves playing war.

He’s given us a gift as well. He’s made us all look at how we feel about war. Seventy percent of the American people want out of this war.

Let’s graduate to the majors, vote our genuine convictions and get out of the bush league once and for all!