Vigils Should Be Used Sparingly
The news that Moveon.org is organizing a vigil outside Norwalk High School because Jim Himes is speaking tonight about the health care bill just rubs me the wrong way. Here’s what the definition of vigil is:
- Etymology: Middle English vigile, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin & Latin; Late Latin vigilia watch on the eve of a feast, from Latin, wakefulness, watch, from vigil awake, watchful; akin to Latin vig?re to be vigorous, veg?re to enliven — more atwake
- Date: 13th century
1 a : a watch formerly kept on the night before a religious feast with prayer or other devotions b : the day before a religious feast observed as a day of spiritual preparation c : evening or nocturnal devotions or prayers —usually used in plural
2 : the act of keeping awake at times when sleep is customary; also : a period of wakefulness
3 : an act or period of watching or surveillance : watch <kept vigil at her bedside>
Well unless moveon.org plans some sort of zombie experience, or otherwise has some health care religous thing going on what they are doing is an old fashioned, utterly pedestrian, demonstration.
