Good
Words, Bad Words … Whatever
Published in Marietta Daily Journal April 24, 2016
Words are the vehicles on which our
thoughts ride. When the vehicles are
well-oiled, or more importantly, when they are first well-chosen, they usually
reach their intended destination.
Words can change history. Oops!
The words in that sentence weren’t well-chosen. Neither words nor anything else can change
history, but words can most definitely change the direction in which history is
headed. Does anyone doubt that
Churchill’s words, “We shall fight on the beaches and on the landing grounds;
we shall fight on the fields and in the streets,” re-ignited Brits, Americans,
and Frenchmen, thereby hastening the defeat of Germany, Italy, and Japan?
Who is not inspired by the words of
Nathan Hale, “I regret that I have but one life to give for my country”? Although Soviet leader Gorbachev was already
disposed to remove the barrier separating East and West Berlin, surely the firm
words of President Reagan, who was standing beside that barrier, influenced him:
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”
On a lighter note, I often find
truth (and personal application) in the words of the cartoon character, Pogo:
“We have met the enemy and he is us.”
The dry wit and words of Will Rogers and Mark Twain have lent us wisdom
and levity. My Rogers favorite: “I’m not
really a movie star. I’ve still got the
wife I started out with 28 years ago.”
Yes, words can change things. They can lift us up, equipping us almost
instantly for high purpose or they can dash us to the floor. There is no better tool than words for
changing minds, emotions, and alas, public policy.
Sometimes – no, often – words are
altered, manipulated, or created by policy makers. Consider the expression “life-style.” This fairly new creation (1939 as a noun;
1976 as an adjective) implies that there are many acceptable ways to live. Just pick the one you want. To use Bill Clinton’s favorite word,
“Whatever!” For homosexuals and the
supposedly transgendered, “life-style” is a godsend. I can think of no word that has changed American
culture more.
“Life-style” is now covering some
absolute craziness, the most egregious being the clamor of the supposedly
transgendered to use the bathroom they wish.
And we’re all supposed to cower and accept it. Elected officials could stop this foolishness
in its tracks if enough of them had the guts to make some noise. No silver-tongued devil will ever convince me
that parents of school children or teenage daughters favor this “liberating innovation.” I am now a one-issue voter: “Tell me where
you stand on supposedly transgender, non-gender, and any other gender beside
male and female bathrooms. Forget the
economy. Answer my question.”
In
the past, certain “life-styles” have been considered aberrations. Now they are “rights.” Oppose them and you’re a throwback. I say we’re desperate for some throwbacks.
Even marriage is fast becoming “just
another chosen way of life.”
Historically the bedrock of civilization and a safe harbor for children,
marriage is now viewed as one of many “tastes.”
No amount of “societal evolution” can erase human history and the
centrality of that little but wondrous unit of government called the
family. Good grief! Even the animal kingdom still functions in
family units. Animals blow to
smithereens the present nonsense about “same-sex marriage” and “diversity of
sexual expression.”
Another word being hijacked by
contemporary culture is “open-minded.”
Oh, don’t we love it. Open
expression, open borders, open minds.
Open expression has led to the filthiest of language in movies, some of
which will be produced in Georgia now that Governor Deal has vetoed those
religious freedom fanatics and welcomed movie makers here to do their thing,
bad words and all. Functionally open
borders have led to an underclass with which the Georgia Chamber of Commerce
and our great corporations are just hunky-dory.
The Chamber likes cheap labor.
“Open
minds” are precisely and exactly what has birthed moral relativism. You know, “Your truth, my truth, whose
truth?”
Atlanta-based Christian apologist
Ravi Zacharias addresses open minds this way: “An open mind is like an open
mouth. Sooner or later it must close on
something or else it accepts everything, rejects nothing, and becomes an open
sewer.”
That should settle it, but the
less-finessed words of a good high school coach also ring in my ears: “If you
leave your mind open all the time, your brain will fall out.”
Yes, “revenue enhancements” are
taxes, “economic equality” is socialism, and he who is fooled by such verbal
shenanigans is not wise.
Just a few words to the wise.
Roger
Hines
4/20/16
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