Words mean things. I think that’s why we use them. As I thought about writing this I wanted to use the best examples I could. So I picked politicians to beat up on. (And some others). What I found as I grew older was that I was listening closer to what people said and then asking; what are they really saying? Some times we say things without thinking and we feel stupid, other times we say something and we really mean it. So context is important. My thought is if you’re a high profile person with the ear of the public, i.e.; a politician, actor, priest, etc, you probably know it. The logic is if you are then you know what you say will get out. So I listen carefully. Very carefully.

          What I hear is this. These people use words to get something done. Most times to move a debate or frame an argument in their favor. One of my life rules is I will not let people win the war of semantics by letting them get away with this. You have heard it a thousand times, ‘We need to do it for the children’ right. Right….. That usually means they want to take more tax money and throw it at a union or a pet project. If you say ‘do it for the children’ it’s like a special dispensation that cannot be challenged. (Challenge it I will!)

          Global Warming…See, you flinched, what if all we could call that is Long Term Environmental CO2 Emissions Atmospheric Human Effect of Change Process? Doesn’t work so good does it!  Whether the Science is good or not, those words have been rammed down our throats like a good preacher with a circa 1762 fire and brimstone sermon. In other words, the words impact is far outreaching the real truth. ‘Tax breaks for the Rich’. OOOhhhh that makes me mad. Even if it is not true! My definition of rich is someone who has real wealth and doesn't have to work for a living, but the debate has been dumbed down until people think that your 80K a year business owner is rich. Not even close. Democracy, don’t we live in a great country. Only problem is, that is a terrible word to use. We are a Constitutional Republic thank the Lord. A true democracy is a scary thing. One step from anarchy or tyranny. But when it is used in today’s discourse it sounds so normal. Are they ignorant, stupid, or do they really want us to hear’ Democracy’. (See first paragraph for answer.)  Diversity, now I am really going to get into trouble! Is diversity supposed to mean we should accept all things as the same no mater our morals or upbringing? We don’t live our lives that way. We associate with certain people because we want to. We discern differences in people and decide if we want to do business, or life with them. Yes, this is discrimination. Completely normal human responses like this are now seen as a character defect and accepting something we find morally objectionable is now noble. What a useless term, diversity. Unless you want to push an agenda and sway the public.

          Notice the words that jump out. Discrimination, discern. Except I use them in a positive sense, treating the word honestly. In the future when you see a news story, or a talking head think of this; what are they really trying to say? Why use that word?

         In an age of extreme specialization wordsmiths are no different. There is a method to their madness. moving a debate or discourse to the point that society accepts their premise. And thus moving the actions that go with them. Words can be dangerous things.