Dear Friends,
It seems to me… the English language is a mysterious thing. Words pop into and out of existence like particles in quantum space. Others change meaning overnight. “Debunked” is just such a word. It used to mean a theory that was thoroughly investigated and proven not to be true, now it means… a democrat scandal they don’t want looked into. Very strange language, English. Other words have morphed overnight into their very opposite and no one seems to notice. I suppose that another quality of English is, that a small cabal of cultural elite can change it, to suit their political needs at a moment’s notice. I have to wonder though, that allowing a small cabal to change the meaning of words, create words and eliminate words at will, doesn’t in some way limit the utility of language itself?
Gravitas was a word that popped into existence and popped out exactly like particles are theorized to in the quantum vacuum. It materialized for a short time, served it’s purpose, then dematerialized just as quickly, seemingly never to be heard again… except in some arcane blog about the meaning and utility of language. Racist is a word that has morphed into it’s opposite. It used to be that a racist was someone who saw a person’s race as their primary attribute. Now it has evolved to mean a person who doesn’t see the race as the primary attribute of any human being. Strange thing that. People today who are clearly “not racists,” openly say that all white people are racists, which can only lead one to believe the word has reversed meaning.
This is a very powerful ability, the ability to change the language to suit one’s political needs. It gives the faction that wields such immense power a truly unfair advantage over any other faction. In the wrong hands such a super power could lower the lot of Mankind by a great degree. The people who wield it though, tell us they are benevolent, they would never use such a weapon to undermine the US Constitution. Like changing the meaning of extremist, who in times of old was a person who sought the destruction of our Constitution, or any of the Rights guaranteed under it… to mean someone who supports the US Constitution. Because the language has changed, now an extremist is someone who opposes the progressive platform, of fundamental change.
What if they are not benevolent but in fact psychopaths who change our language at will to suit their political exigencies? Now that would be diabolical. The implications should send a cold shiver down the spine of every rational human being. Let’s examine if this could be true. The power to change language lay primarily in the cultural transmission sources. Which, at first glance, would make it appear that the power is not used for political advantage, but as a fundamental force that churns in the subconscious of the culture. Except that every change in the meaning of a word, every new word and every word that is suppressed, serves the ends of the progressive faction… and indeed we find that the vast majority of the cultural elite identify as progressive.
That our language is manipulated for political purposes is not necessarily a bad thing, unless that manipulation serves the interests of a faction, and not the whole of society. What ends do the progressive faction put their super power, the ability to change our language at will, to? The examples I have already given might provide some insight. What end does changing the definition of “racist” serve? How does reversing the term “extremist” affect the nature and role of government? Why did “gravitas” pop into and out of existence so fast? Most importantly, does changing the meaning of “debunked,” further the cause of justice, or hinder it? Answering these questions will answer the bigger question. Does such a mighty morphing language serve communication… or a diabolical end?
Sincerely,
John Pepin
