One of the things a College does is help students identify appropriate professions for them to consider. Each profession has its own distinct language which must be mastered in order to be accepted in the profession of your choice. Consider these examples of language closely associated with a profession:

Medical Profession: "Take 2 aspirin and call me in the morning."
Accountants: "Debits on the left, credits on the right"
Realtors: "Location, location, location"
Attorneys: "Res-ip-sa Loquiter," (The thing speaks for itself)
A Sportscaster-make nouns out of verbs; uses questionable words like athleticism, principle of verticality; and ever since the Olympics, new word: "Venue."

Academics certainly have their share. We love to talk about "Paradigms;" we use cute words like "bimodal,"or we refer to our disciplines as "Soc," "Psych," or Poli Sci." At Greensboro College we speak a language uniquely our own. We talk about the "Stu;" some students live in West "High or Low," and those vertical designations have nothing to do with up and down. Students and faculty eat their meals in a place called "the Caf."

One of Academe's favorite words is "Oxymoron." This does not mean "dumb cows." According to Literature, oxymoron means a combination of opposites:

Shakespeare says, "Parting is such sweet sorrow."
Psychologists describe people who "love to hate"
Chemistry declares nothing is as "Clear as mud"

Some wives describe their husbands as "A handsome devil." Simon and Garfunkel sing "Sounds of Silence." A Prison warden at Alcatraz described the place as "A Living Death." The military talks about "friendly fire." Mob figures speak of "honor among thieves." A New Testament Professor may speak of "the good thief."

Earlier in the Fall the leaders of the Chambers of Commerce of High Point and Greensboro spent a day working together on projects and programs important to the entire County. Many exceptionally good ideas came from the joint planning session.

We talked about Transportation and heard a Department of Transportation official predict that high speed rail will happen and it will come right through our county. He predicted that the Governor's two hour train from Raleigh to Charlotte will happen. He saw it as part of the rapid rail that will be built from Boston to Miami.

We talked about public schools and the importance of the upcoming bond issue. We talked about growth, no-growth, smart-growth (does anyone favor dumb growth?). We talked about electric de-regulation.

One topic in particular seemed unusually interesting, and there was near if not complete agreement on what should be done. We were talking about the need for county-wide planning authority, rather than separate planning functions in High Point and Greensboro.

Speaker after speaker eloquently addressed the need for this county-wide effort. Elected, appointed and employed officials of both municipalities extolled the importance of county-wide planning. Then the two highest ranking officials of the two cities agreed on a statement that causes me to wonder if my earlier definition of the word "oxymoron" fits in right here. They said, "Guilford County needs a county-wide planning authority, but it will not happen." The leaders of both cities agree it is important. Then they agree once again that even though it is important "it is not likely to happen."

Does this fit the definition of "oxymoron" described above? What am I missing here?