Word: trait
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Dates: during 1990-1990
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...fatal to reputation. But it is seldom so savage that it actually kills the writer. Plagiarism is usually too squalid and minor to take a part in tragedy; maybe that was the suicide's true shame, the grubbiness. Plagiarism proclaims no majestic flaw of character but a trait, pathetic, that makes you turn aside in embarrassment. It belongs to the same rundown neighborhood as obscene phone calls or shoplifting...
Comparisons of Saddam Hussein to Hitler may be overblown. The Iraqi dictator has not built a Middle Eastern Auschwitz -- yet. But Saddam does seem to share one Hitlerian trait identified by British historian Alan Bullock: he is "consumed ((by)) the will to power in its crudest and purest form . . . power and domination for its own sake," to be expanded without limit. If Saddam is allowed to keep part of Kuwait -- and make no mistake, that is what those advocating a "diplomatic solution" are hinting at -- he will be back to take a bite out of another victim. Not right away...
Presented with a choice that makes them appear either selfish or selfless, many "silence" their distinctive voice. They become less confident and more tentative in offering their opinions -- a trait that often persists into adulthood. "We start to hear the breathy voice," says Gilligan. "After a while, they speak in a way that's disconnected from how they are really feeling." Speech becomes punctuated with passive "I don't knows." Consider Anna. At age 12, the insidious words cropped up only 21 times during an interview. By age 14, they numbered...
...junking the boxy suits and one-of-the-boys manner that always seemed less a style than a disguise. In psychology the old view that autonomy is the hallmark of mental health is being revamped. A sense of "connectedness" to others is now being viewed as a healthy trait rather than a symptom of "dependent personality disorder." In politics women candidates are finding that issues they emphasize may carry more weight than ever with voters tired of the guns-not-butter budgets of the 1980s...
Baker may be right in branding suggestions that the U.S. somehow encouraged Baghdad's aggression "absolutely ludicrous." But the incident revealed anew that taking blame as well as credit is not Baker's style. The trait predates his 20 months at the State Department. During the 1988 presidential campaign, Baker labored to keep his fingerprints off the controversial Willie Horton ads, although as campaign manager he was ultimately responsible for their repeated airing. When Bush selected the callow Dan Quayle as his running mate, Baker distanced himself from the choice. When the U.S. invaded Panama last December, Baker was scarcely...