Irrelevant is the hardest word

"What do I do to make you love me?  What have I got to do to be heard?”
© 1976 Big Pig Music Limited

In ’76, Elton John tried to convince us “Sorry” was the hardest word. He was wrong.

If you want to hurt someone or something – the 2010 attack of choice is to declare him or it ‘Irrelevant’.

Two months after a stunning win that rocked the entire USA, Scott Brown was declared irrelevant by the media yesterday.

ir•rel•e•vant (ĭ-rěl'ə-vənt) adj. Unrelated to the matter being considered. having no bearing on or connection with the subject at issue


Last month, President Obama declared the other Two Branches of Government Irrelevant, at least according one press outlet.

On March 5th, Google declared Desktop PCs will be Irrelevant In Three Years.

Last November 2009 (ok, a short cheat on 2010), online investment advisor 7/24 Wall St declared Nissan irrelevant.

In fact, there is now a brand new website devoted to 2010’s latest obsession – irrelevancy.

The beauty of declaring someone or something irrelevant is the instant enfeeblement of the target. What’s Scott Brown going to do now – jump up and down screaming, “I so to AM relevant you big fat idiots!”…? Is Michael Dell or Nissan CEO, Carlos Ghosn going to write an op-ed on the relevancy of PCs or Nissan cars? Not likely.

Claiming you are relevant makes you sound like a ninny. Anyone or anything that is relevant, doesn’t have to claim relevancy. That’s why its such a beautiful, and disgustingly cheap and dangerous attack.

- Lazy people declare opposing arguments irrelevant when they have not devoted the time or effort required to craft a solid argument for their point of view.

- Weak-minded people with weak-minded arguments call their opponents irrelevant.

- Fearful people who are afraid to answer tough questions dismiss them as irrelevant – usually quickly followed by the directive, “Let’s move on…” - a favorite interview tactic of politicians who are often lazy, weak-minded and fearful.

So while it may be tempting to label something or someone irrelevant – doing so reveals your inability to address the real issues, it reveals your innate fear of exposure as an idiot, and it lays bare your abject laziness in researching, preparing, and formatting a compelling argument...

Or worse, it reveals your lack of credibility, character, and intellectual honesty...

and quite frankly, doing so makes you...in a word...irrelevant…