[Sorry I’m late. I’m having a very hard time getting enough sleep.]
George Orwell, of course, was the first to write extensively about this: words that acquire alien meanings when power-hungry governments use them. Heck, look what they’ve done to “smart.” And “equity.” Now they only mean flee to someplace safe before the libs can rob you blind .
You could probably put together a whole glossary of ordinary words and expressions that have acquired a sinister quality and have long since parted ways with their definitions in the dictionary.
Please, Father, rescue us out of this age!
Going back, all the way to the hippy days of the late ‘60s, there was a lot of talk about freedom, but even back then, it became obvious to me that freedoms meant the freedom to agree with them, and if you chose to disagree with their agenda, then you become the enemy.
For example, there are many people whom promote the notion that people should be able to make their own choices regarding the recreational use of drugs. Ok, great. I choose not to use drugs recreationally. To many in our society, that is not an acceptable choice, and my preference makes me a threat.
Manipulating the meaning of words is a fast track to tyranny. Own the language, and you own the discussion.
How my “friends” used to nag me for NOT doing drugs!
I don’t bother with them anymore.
I can’t think of any drug user I’ve known who did well throughout their lives, unless they made a conscious choice to break free from all drug abuse and to live a sober life. One former coworker was an affable, and truly talented person, but is frittered his life away, and ignored serious health issues.
Another example was Michael Nesmith, who, beyond acting in the Monkees television series was a gifted songwriter and singer, eventually becoming a successful businessman. He had smoked a lot of marijuana in his younger days, but later on, as a practicing Christian Scientist left it behind.
Near the end of his life, he went back to it, and just before the end of his life, he made some YouTube videos where he came across to me as a foolish old man who had left behind all of the dignity he had earned. It’s a pity, he was a truly gifted composer. Now, my memory of him is forever scarred.
*Sigh*
I try to be balanced in this. Strong drugs are used for medicinal purposes, literally every day, and very few people develop dependencies. But when used for a sensation, or to escape reality, drugs can quickly become problematic, and my feeling regarding this is that recreational use of drugs is a gateway to major problems.
We now live in an era of medicinal marijuana, and while I don’t deny that there can be medicinal uses, it strikes me that a lot of medicinal users are merely getting high, and using medical “necessity” as a rationale for recreational use.
It’s all about motive, and if your motive is to leave behind our alertness and soundness of mind, as an escape from reality, the outcome will not be good.
speaking of words and definitions: did anyone notice the name of the leader of this war against Israel? Last name: sinwar sin war. Interesting, eh?
I had noticed that. From what I’ve heard, he lived up to his name.
Yes, it appears that he did. More the tragedy for him.
We are seeing things I had never imagined possible.
I’m still struggling with 2+2=5 and what is a memory hole.
I forgot–what is it?