“One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. Which road do I take? She asked. Where do you want to go? was his response. I don’t know, Alice answered. Then, said the cat, it doesn’t matter.”
And there it is. This timeless message by Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, unwittingly nailed today’s dilemma concerning the direction America is taking. The majority seem willing to going with the flow.
There are multiple reasons for a rudderless citizenry, but many believe a primary cause is found within our language. Our words have been corrupted; definitions questionable and always shifting; in many cases the truth of those words are lost. And with that, they are used as weapons by those intent on changing our norms.
The destruction of our words was forecasted by British political commentator George Orwell back in the ‘40s. His book Nineteen Eighty-Four is quoted by those who believe America has lost its way. Interestingly, to the end, Orwell labeled himself a “democratic socialist,” and warned against political correctness. He called it thought control. He coined the labels “big brother” and “thought police.” (wordiq.com)
So, we are prudent to ask: If words don’t clearly state our thoughts, then how does one communicate, even with himself? Clearly, it’s our responsibility to pay attention to our own words, so as not to perpetuate this practice. But, it takes consciousness.
Need some examples? Alan Korwin, Author of Gun Laws of America, provides clear illustrations of word issues surrounding guns: Is it gun control or crime control, or victim disarmament? Guns kill or do they save lives or protect? How about the powerful gun lobby, or should they be called civil rights organizations)? Guns are bad or guns are why America is still free? (www.gunlaws.com/politicallycorrect.htm).
Shall we make a similar list for mental health failures, pharmaceuticals, violent movies and games?
I would add to Korwin’s list visual messages imposed on America such as using children as propaganda regarding guns and illegal immigration, but refusing to acknowledge them when government sells off their futures (a topic for another column).
Turning to Biblical examples, non-Christians I hope will allow this reference in that truth is truth be it from Mohammad or Moses or even from self: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. “ Isaiah 5:20.
And then, of course, there is neutrality towards wrong or just plan evil. It is the worst kind of abdication of responsibility. We might say, watchdogs that don’t bark need to be put down. Yes, I mean media, however individuals are also culpable. If “put down” is too strong, how about “benched?” See what I mean about words?
Oxford professor C.S. Lewis called what we’re doing to words, “verbicide, the murder of a word or its intentions.” Verbicide is not a new trend, but proliferated when the politically correct crowd learned words are the best weapons.
One more Biblical reference: The Tower of Babel. When God changed the language, communication failed; the collapse of that society quickly followed as He intended, of course.
Folks, you know it too, regardless of our individual politics, when word meanings shift and confuse, definitions become lies. Then when used to pander to social narcissism and political agendas, the outcome is frightening.
It matters that we set our course, and communicate it clearly and shun clever wordsmithing; otherwise we’re bound to end up in a tree with the cat, or worse.
East Valley resident Linda Turley-Hansen (turleyhansen@gmail.com) is a syndicated columnist and former Phoenix veteran TV anchor.
hotrod posted at 8:47 am on Sat, Feb 2, 2013.
sad but true. wordsmithing? verbacide? try the word 'gay' and how that word has been perverted. [sad]
AJW3 posted at 9:00 am on Sat, Feb 2, 2013.
'Folks, you know it too, regardless of our individual politics, when word meanings shift and confuse, definitions become lies. Then when used to pander to social narcissism and political agendas, the outcome is frightening.'
You must be referring to Limbaugh, Hannity Fox News etal.
Cerulean posted at 9:08 am on Sat, Feb 2, 2013.
“The steep drop in crime in America is one of the most noteworthy sociological trends of the last twenty years. What astonishing is that, although the murder rate has fallen by more than 50 percent in many cities, we still don’t know why. . . .
For decades, doctors have known that children with lots of lead in their blood are much more likely to be aggressive . . .
In recent years, neuroscientists have made important progress in identifying the precise mechanisms by which lead exposure reduces impulse control.”
Tests have shown that the amount of lead in Americans’ blood fell by four-fifths between 1975 and 1991. A 2007 study by the economist Jessica Wolpaw Reyes contended that the reduction in gasoline lead produced more than half of the decline in violent crime during the 1990s in the U.S. and might bring about greater declines in the future.”
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/06/the-crime-of-lead-exposure/
downtownresident posted at 3:40 pm on Sat, Feb 2, 2013.
Well,
Speaking of language, these guys didn't "shun clever wordsmithing". How's this from Dick Cheney, on the Senate floor to Harry Reid, I think, " Go f**k yourself", and then there's the picturesque , "Mr President, You lie!" from some S.C senator.
Language is perverted by anyone with an agenda, such as yourself.
onerebel posted at 5:19 pm on Sat, Feb 2, 2013.
Funny that someone would have the nerve to throw FOX News name out there for pushing a political agenda right after MSNBC got caught doctoring videos AGAIN, to push the lefts political agenda.
mikedurham posted at 6:25 pm on Sat, Feb 2, 2013.
I'm stunned. Linda has more questions than answers. Her prescription pad for solutions is still in her drawer while she faces multiple enigmas ... real enigmas. On February 3rd of 1996 at about 6:27 in the morning my friend was shot to death while he worked. The bullet hit him in the back of the head a lodged in a wall. The killer is still walking free after 17 years in order to preserve the killer's rights and preserve our way of pursuing justice. The murder and my effort to seek justice has served up question after question and no killer entering a plea before a judge. The Mad Hatter holds very curious tea parties. The question of who should pour is of higher priority than who should sip from the cup of justice. Tomorrow morning please pause for murder victims and the patience of their families.
Rich posted at 7:01 pm on Sat, Feb 2, 2013.
We begin in anarchy...chaos. Strong people pull us into order and we become a tyranny (dictatorship in modern terms). Tyrants pass their power to their children and we become a monarchy, Since the children aren't the equal of their parents, it deteriorates into decadence. The people revolt and take over, as a democracy. Then every whim, gets a law, until there is a right not to be irritated, not to watch a man lean back and smoke after a meal. And then come laws about your dog, the seats in your car, and they all differ as little as a mile from home. And, we don't have to ask where it began, it begins, where it ends.
JMJ posted at 9:21 pm on Sat, Feb 2, 2013.
Curiouser and curiouser. Lewis Carroll's fondness for little girls was just recently broached, or, in a word, re-broached, as he apparently liked to take photographs of unclothed little girls. When we all go down the rabbit hole, and things become distorted--what with so many choices and non-conformity that we, as a nation, are now allowed to exercise, I could see where others might think that is chaos.
JMJ posted at 9:21 pm on Sat, Feb 2, 2013.
Evil is evil, and has always been. But who defines evil, and who is right and who is wrong? Luckily, with the evolution [a very scary word, to some] of exactly what "freedom" means, people can now make up their own minds instead of goose-stepping to tradition or expectations placed upon them by the "norms" that may be "norms" for some, not necessarly everyone. Is it evil to be a non-conformist to another's world view? No.
That's the beauty of living in America. Mince all the words you want. We'll make more.
JMJ posted at 9:22 pm on Sat, Feb 2, 2013.
Hmmm. The filter [multiple meaning word] thought my comment was SPAM [another multiple meaning word].
Ciao. Chow.
LiveInGilbert posted at 12:15 pm on Mon, Feb 4, 2013.
As usual ...Linda uses many words but really says nothing at all.
Bingo6 posted at 12:36 pm on Mon, Feb 4, 2013.
One pill makes you smaller, one pill makes you larger ; unfortunately LTH, took the small pill.
Rich posted at 6:58 pm on Mon, Feb 4, 2013.
So Bingo you're saying that the ones that Mother gives you don't anything at all?