Recently while reading news items, I encounter the word sycophants, especially when they were describing people who hang around dictators, presidents, prime ministers and kings or queens. The rich and powerful seem to attract them in hordes.

I had a vague idea of what it meant. Any word that starts with sycho or psycho is a little disturbing.

The dictionary says a sycophant is a person who acts obsequiously towards someone important to gain advantage for themselves and their friends or relatives. I hate it when they use a big, seldom-used word to define another seldom-used word. Obsequiously is a word I never use, and I have trouble saying it, let alone trying to remember how to spell it. So, once again, I had to look it up in the dictionary and it means being obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree. Sort of fawning over the person, agreeing with them and flattering them, no matter what.

Colloquially, it might be called being a stooge or flunky, although it often has more rude and crude slang terms.

Theoretically, I now know what a sycophant is, and it isnSA国际影视传媒檛 what I would call good. Maybe they should list that on peopleSA国际影视传媒檚 passports and papers as their occupation. They should also have to get a licence or permit to practise their chosen profession, and they should pay a tax on all the perks, privileges or favours they may get by doing it.

So, there you have obsequious sycophants, two words you will probably never use. But you never know with English, words tend to have a life of their own and fall in and out of favour.

With the election looming, it might be time to consider some possible election reforms because our current system is quite old and needs to be updated. I remember one time a fellow suggested that when you go to the polls you should have two votes: one for the candidate you want for your area and one for the party you want in power. I am not sure how that would work out, but it is always something worth considering.

When a politician is giving a speech, they often have a group of people standing behind them to make things look more exciting. If they are party faithful, I call this the bobblehead brigade because they nod their heads in agreement with the speaker. Other times, they may be at a job site, factory or business, and I assume the people in the background volunteer or are coerced into standing there. Sometimes they look rather stunned or unhappy because they have to stand there for a long time. If you look closely, some seem to be in agony because I always imagine at least one or two are saying to themselves, SA国际影视传媒淗urry up, I need to go to the bathroom.SA国际影视传媒� Or, SA国际影视传媒淗ow much longer is this politician going to ramble on because I have more important things to do.SA国际影视传媒�

ItSA国际影视传媒檚 not something I would volunteer to do because after a few minutes I know I would start to get antsy, jittery, bored or very restless. Standing still for a long period of time just isnSA国际影视传媒檛 natural or healthy. I see a crowd like that on the news and I scan their faces to try to guess how they are really feeling. I donSA国际影视传媒檛 know who orchestrates these events, but I always wonder what would happen if people decided to leave before the speech is over.

There should be a name for this group of people, and they should get some sort of prize, medal or honorarium for their time. Maybe they get a slice of pizza or a coffee and doughnut. Just imagine if you were a reporter or camera person and you had to attend these events day after day for weeks on end. They certainly deserve a medal for time served, one that says 'I survived the election of 2025.'

If you havenSA国际影视传媒檛 voted yet, try to vote on election day because turnout is important. It shows you care, and it is an indication of how interested people are in politics.