Set in motion

Set in motion

Today’s expression is to set in motion. What does it mean to set something in motion? We usually say this when we’re talking about beginning a process. Usually a person takes an action—or something happens—that sets a process in motion. Something happens that begins a process.

In today’s main lesson, I said that the videotaped killing of George Floyd set in motion a process of reform of police departments. A lot of police departments, after seeing the video and after hearing the voices of the protesters—a lot of police departments are changing their policies. I gave examples from Dallas and California and Seattle and Minneapolis. The process is that police departments are reforming their policies. What set that in motion? What began that process? It was the videotaped killing in Minneapolis. That started it all. After the video became public, then protests started. After protests were going on, police departments took note. After that, they started reforming policies.

Now, remember that set in motion is to begin a process—it doesn’t mean a process is complete. I’m not saying that the job of reforming American police is done. I only said that the video set the process in motion. We will see if the reforms are adequate; if they work; if they’re enough. But for now, we can say that the process is in motion, and we can say that the video from Minneapolis set the process in motion.

June 6 was the seventy-sixth anniversary of D-Day, the date on which 176,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on the beaches in France’s Normandy region. The D-Day invasion set in motion the events that eventually won World War II. That was not the end of the war. The war did not end until September 1945, over a year later. But that event—the daring landing on mainland Europe’s beaches by Allied forces—that set in motion the events that would later win the war. That was the beginning of a series of events, a process.

The coronavirus set in motion a vast movement toward remote working. The coronavirus by itself didn’t make you work at home. All the coronavirus does is make you sick. But the spread of the virus set in motion this huge experiment where people around the world started working at home. The coronavirus was the first event that started it all. Then governments issued stay-at-home orders and companies adapted. The process all started with the spread of the virus. The virus set this in motion.

Hydraulic fracking is a new process of extracting oil and natural gas from under the ground. The method was developed in the second half of the Twentieth Century, but it was only in the last ten years that it became commercially viable—meaning, it only made business sense in the last ten years. The development of better fracking methods in the early 2000’s set in motion a re-alignment of the energy industry in the US and Canada.

As a result of fracking, areas that were for the longest time only farmland all of a sudden became lucrative places to extract oil. Parts of the country that were once rich with coal had been dying—then fracking came along to revive their economies. The energy industry completely changed in the US and Canada in the last several years. The development of more efficient fracking methods set that in motion. The knowledge, the processes, by themselves did not re-make the energy industries in the US and Canada. But the new knowledge set that in motion. It was the first thing that then led to many other things after that.

Quote of the Week

I’m reading a book about the science of sleep. Maybe I’ll write a lesson about it once I’m done. But I came across a quote from an American entrepreneur, E. Joseph Cossman. He said, “The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep.” There are definitely times when you think all hope is lost. You’re stressed out; it’s late. But then you get a full night of sleep, and things seem better in the morning.

I had a number of those occasions as I was building the new web site. I had to learn a lot of new things. I hit a number of roadblocks. There were a lot of nights I thought something wasn’t possible. I had not been able to figure something out. But after a full night of sleep, things were clearer in the morning. And there is science to back that up—it’s fascinating. I’ll share more in a future lesson. But for now, I’ll leave you with the quote: “The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep.” That quote is by E. Joseph Cossman.

See you next time!

You know, speaking of the new web site, there really is a lot that’s new. And I just feel so lucky that we live in a time where a lot of this is possible. I’m not a web developer; I’m not a programmer. But I was able to bring together a lot of great tools on the new PlainEnglish.com.

We’ve added a lot to the membership at Plain English Plus+ . A lot. It now includes discussion forums, where you can practice writing and ask me anything in English. A lot of Plus+ members are already doing that. Plain English Plus+ now includes live video calls. We have new exercises where you can perfect your pronunciation and your listening. And that’s all in addition to the video lessons, the courses, the translations, the fast version. It really is a lot.

We’ve easily doubled the value of the membership. There’s no question about that. So I need to give you fair warning that on July 1, we are going to be raising the price of Plain English Plus+ from $15 per month to $19 per month. It’s still a great value at $19 per month. But the great thing is, no existing member will pay more. The new monthly price is for members who join after July 1 only. So if you are listening to this in June, you have the opportunity to join Plain English Plus+ for $15 and you’ll never pay more than that—never, ever. This is until July 1 only—after that, all new members will pay $19 per month. So I really, really would like all of you to get the lowest price possible while it lasts.

You can get all the details at PlainEnglish.com/Plus. Remember, get on there before July 1. Try us out for a month—you can cancel any time and there’s never a penalty. But I do really want you all to get the best price possible, so get on there before July 1. PlainEnglish.com/plus.