And the password is: Breakaway

Greg Griffith is right on the money in his post today, "South Carolina Snapshot: Are We Losing the Public Relations Battle?" There is a word that is quite popular right now in the TEC ligitation offensive and that word is, indeed, breakaway.

Note how often the word breakaway is used these days. Accident? It is clear that finally - finally - 815 has hired themselves some professional help to recover from them PR disaster of the past six years. This fight is no longer on the blogs - it's gone to the majors.

That is why they couldn't begin to answer the question at General Convention on how much is being spent on "litigation." Just exactly how does one define the word litigation - is it just the lawyers, or is all the flaks as well?

And the password is: breakaway. Here's a couple of definitions:

• the act of breaking away or withdrawing from; "there was a breakaway by the discontented members"; "a breaking away from family and neighborhood"
• having separated or advocating separation from another entity or policy or attitude; "a breakaway faction"

The key in these definition is "breakaway faction." There is a connotation to the word "breakaway" that is negative. It's just inherently negative. We never hear the Founding Fathers referred to as "breakaway faction" of Merry Olde England. Such a term diminishes the cause. There is connotation of "troublemaker" and "fringe" and "coalition of the unhappy" associated with such a word.

But it's not entirely offensive, and so easily picked up. It's not like "schismatics." Notice how that word has fallen out of fashion. It goes with the Charm Offensive now underway. It's not an accident.

So watch that word "breakaway" or "break-away" - it can be used both ways. See how many times you can count it's use. The word as it's being used means schism - that those who have "broken away" are the ones who have caused the division. Au contraire! One has to go back to August 2003. What did all the instruments of the Anglican Communion say to The Episcopal Church? Just who is actually doing the breakaway? Hmmm? Ironic, no?

But just in case it might get a bit over-used ad-nauseam, we have some music to help along the way, but it's not exactly in the game plan:


Thanks, Kelly. Be sure to read Greg's post here.