Definition of “Us”

by Wayne Hicks

There is a tiny little two-letter word that always seems to me to be misused. The dictionary definition of it, though simple and to the point, doesn’t satisfy me. And so I thought I would take a moment to define it a bit more clearly.

This tiny word is “us”. According to the dictionary, it’s a simple plural pronoun that is used to make oneself and another or others the object of a phrase or sentence, as in “The insurance company sent us a check.” The subject of this sentence is “a check”, which was sent to the object, “us”.

Okay, so maybe that’s a rational definition. But people are not always rational, and so I looked more closely at the word “us”. And this is what I found.

“Us” is a symbol that we use in speech or writing to indicate that two or more people are directly connected. Two or more people are affected by any event that happens to them. Two or more people feel some form of emotion because of such an event, or perhaps only because of their associations with one another.

“Us” is a feeling. When one finds him-or-herself to be part of an “us”, one is no longer alone. “Us” takes whatever parts of life it shares together, jointly, and does not exclude any of the individuals who form part of the “us”.

“Us” is a commitment. It is a conscious recognition that two or more people are jointly and mutually involved in whatever event or condition has created the “us”. It does not accept any discrimination between its members, but considers them all equal, part and partner in the situation that creates it.

“Us” is a condition under which two or more people become mutually dependent upon each other to a lesser or greater degree, depending upon the circumstances that created it. The individuals who form the “us” must cooperate in order to make that circumstance bear its proper fruit; should they fail to cooperate, they are no longer part of the “us”. Those who do not participate in the endeavor of the “us” are no longer part of it. Such are now “other”, separated from the “us” by the choice to abandon the remaining participants.

“Us” is finite, but it can be enduring. An “us” can last for only seconds, when individuals are cast together in a momentary event such as an auto accident or a storm; or it can remain for years, as happens among classmates and friends. Such individuals will always be part of an “us” whenever they think of those who are or ever were parts of it with them.

“Us” is capable of being eternal. When individuals are bound together into an “us” by bonds of love, that “us” can last throughout all of their lives, and even beyond death.

“Us” is far more than a pronoun, then, is it not? Can you agree with my reasoning in this?

Ah, I’m sure you can, my Love. I knew you’d see it, that you would understand and embrace how much it means to be part of an “us”

And that, of course, is why I wrote this:

For Us.