When words fail would-be philologists, the feeling is akin to a linguistic trespass. The search for meaning, clarity, succinctness and le mot juste is not too common in daily American life. We use language with such harshness and lack of forethought. Those who do take the time to reflect before speaking are often drowned out by the whitenoise of insufferable "talkers", many of whom seem to be unaware of their volume and rudeness. Be it a co-worker blathering outside my cube walls or a retail associate at a chain store, I am reminded daily that Americans too frequently assume they are experts on every subject or that their conversation or monologue will engross every passer-by. The amount of vulgar personal information I have recently overheard could kill a horse. Maybe that is the price of an immature, open society- what we gain in personal freedom and so-called choice, we lose in basic courtesy, diplomacy, tact and decorum. Our individual rights are so valued or at least flaunted that we would rather honk our SUV's horns at the car allowing a pedestrian to pass in the crosswalk than to be held up for 10 seconds. If we can't yell our point in someone's face, that is the recourse. Brash, obnoxious lauts are constantly lauded for having the guts "to say what we are all thinking". Well, not all of us are thinking that and if we quiet down for a few minutes, some of the really great minds will have a chance to speak up and we may learn something from the talent that lies below the surface.