Posted on 05/13/2018 8:11:43 AM PDT by Oldpuppymax
What's in a word?
Why does it matter whether we call someone who breaks the law to enter the country an "illegal alien" or an "undocumented immigrant"? What's the difference between a Christmas tree and a "holiday tree"?
It's just semantics, right?
Yes...and no.
It is just semantics. But "semantics" means the meaning of words. Words exist so that we might differentiate one thing from another. Without words we have chaos. And it starts with the first words; a baby says ‘Mama’ to distinguish Mommy from Daddy. Words shape how we think; they color how we view the world.
And no one understands this better than the Left. They seek to become masters of the spoken language because they know that words matter.
The Left has a special gift for euphemisms --soft words selected to sugarcoat harsh realities so as to make those very difficult situations easier for us to swallow. But these soft words are insidious. Their sole purpose is to deceive.
Race discrimination in hiring and college admissions is refashioned as the much nicer sounding "affirmative action." Who would ever oppose an affirmative action?
Global warming, which can be measured and challenged, has morphed into "climate change," which means essentially nothing because the climate is always changing.
When Barack Obama became president, George Bush's war in Afghanistan suddenly transformed into the far less ominous and threatening "overseas contingency operation." That's one way to try to end a war; just rename it.
The examples are endless. There's a new euphemism every week.
In the make-believe world of leftist language, young criminals have become "justice-involved youth." Mandates and taxes are "individual shared responsibility payments." Government spending becomes an "investment." Wanting to keep more of your hard-earned money becomes "greed"; taking more of anothers money is...
(Excerpt) Read more at thecoachsteam.com ...
Think about this. “Same-sex marriage CANNOT be between a man and a woman”. Marriage in the historic sense no longer exists. Know the meaning of words!
Wonderful article! Thank you for posting it.
Testing often reinforces preferred orientations.
“Do you know that Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year?”
Winston did know that, of course. He smiled, sympathetically he hoped, not trusting himself to speak.
Syme bit off another fragment of the dark-coloured bread, chewed it briefly, and went on:
“Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed, will be expressed by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined and all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out and forgotten.”
“Already, in the Eleventh Edition, we’re not far from that point. But the process will still be continuing long after you and I are dead. Every year fewer and fewer words, and the range of consciousness always a little smaller. Even now, of course, there’s no reason or excuse for committing thoughtcrime. It’s merely a question of self-discipline, reality-control.”
“But in the end there won’t be any need even for that. The Revolution will be complete when the language is perfect. Newspeak is Ingsoc and Ingsoc is Newspeak,” he added with a sort of mystical satisfaction.
“Has it ever occurred to you, Winston, that by the year 2050, at the very latest, not a single human being will be alive who could understand such a conversation as we are having now?”
I trust you are familiar with the source.
It’s called Marxism.
Hitler also believed in controlling the words people used. Germans actually went around saying things like “we’re having Hitler weather today” on a nice day.
Just a notch away from the Thought Police.
p
The good news is that the use of language now clarifies.
If someone says “undocumented immigrant” you know that are a lefty wacko...
The best way to respond to them is to explain that bank robbers are making undocumented cash withdrawals from banks.
Here’s a few
Gun. Violence
Gender not sex
Climate change
White priveledge
Voter suppression
Bookmark
Anyone who thinks the left has a monopoly on manipulating words for their own benefit is fifty percent blind.
Also, don't forget how Comey's FBI insisted that everybody refer to Hillary's mishandling of confidential emails as a "matter" instead of an investigation.
A lot of the manipulation is about associating something with good or bad. Percentages, high or low, can be good or bad—either way. The prevailing orientation of what is meant is significant to understand where we are at, but Orwell is probably quite right. Suppression of evidence is preferred, but language, in the end, is always revealing.
Here’s one easy method to play the game: make two columns, one to list things that everyone thinks is good (e.g., high employment), and the other column to list things that you would like to see in place (women in power). Then you associate appropriately. Women in power leads to higher employment.
Very often the preferred new term will have a scientific ring to it, since many people consider science as good.
Besides the left, one’s own way of thinking is often the culprit. There’s a voice that you hear, telling you a good thing is bad or a bad thing is good.
This is a perfect example of a useful term. Suppression is bad and expression is good. That's been a long and fruitful crusade of the left.
The terms must be replaced when they are no longer advantageous for a desired outcome/orientation. So they can be watched like a stock ticker. When the prevailing viewpoint is positive--sell the words. When the prevailing viewpoint is negative--buy the words.
“Those who control language control minds.” Ayn Rand.
L
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