We all know about the legendary self-righteous people that can be seen in the comments sections on any social media platform. The ones who create an argument solely based on their opinions, which they believe to be the strongest fact in the world. The ones who always have another commenter responding with Micheal Jackson eating popcorn. These are the pontificators.
No one likes them as people, though in some ways, we may have always had moments like that, where we don't check our facts and then go back and see how much of an ass of ourselves we just made. Others simply enjoy the drama as it is: hilarious.
Pontificate | pän-ˈti-fə-ˌkāt: verb: to speak or express opinions in a pompous or dogmatic way
I personally do my best to check my facts before speaking my opinion, but even I have my shortcomings in more heated discussions. It is for my previous times pontificating that I do my best not to speak on politics, religion, current societal trends, or anything even remotely close on the internet. At the end of the day, I know that my opinions, while backed by some, will offend or even downright anger others.
It's easier, I find, to simply spread the joy of life around than to be the mean-spirited person in the comments vehemently speaking their mind without bothering to stop and think what another person feels about that. I also look at many of those kinds of commenters and think that maybe they are having a very rough time in their lives right now, and in their mind, it's best to just take that anger out on others instead of focusing on bettering themselves.
Pontificate | pɑːnˈtɪf.ə.keɪt: verb: to speak or write and give your opinion about something as if you knew everything about it and as if only your opinion was correct
This kind of base character-building, however, makes for a good start-up villain. Perhaps a character who is, by their very nature, opinionated and less inclined to see other points of view, could turn from the side of the protagonist and inadvertently become the antagonist or aide the current villain of the story.
In fact, in the book I got this word from originally, Sun Warrior, that is the case with a character named Thaddeus. No real spoilers here, since the first time you read about him, you just know he's gonna end up being bad. His mind is already darker and more twisted away from the Tribe of Trees, but I do have to admit that his buildup is spectacular, and he makes out to be one of those characters that you just love to hate.
The God quickly became bored as Thaddeus continued to bluster and pontificate, and His attention shifted, turning inward.
Have you ever caught yourself pontificating? Do your antagonists or even some of your protagonists do so? What words would you like to see on here? Be sure to tell me all about it, and until tomorrow, happy reading!
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