Politics and culture have long fought over language. Language itself has been the instrument used to conduct those contests. Rhetoric was the most powerful tool of rule and law in ancient Greece. Writing’s origins were to track stuff that belonged to rulers and gods, the power and exploits of rulers and gods, articulate the rules set forth by rulers and gods, or conjure the power of rulers and gods. The earliest form of western education was structured around the ‘trivium,’ or three subjects: grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
Apr 21, 2023·edited Apr 21, 2023Liked by Jim Meskauskas, Joey Dumont
Great article! We have gotten bogged down in semantic virtue signalling instead of directly helping real people in real ways. Which I think is kinda the point. Compelled speech is one of the last nails in the coffin of healthy, free flowing human interaction. If I have to over think every single word out of my mourh, then I am going to avoid talking deeply about anything with anyone. This PC language shit has created a time wasting nightmare in every single system we rely on for survival. Our local County Council which meets only twice a month, for a two hour session; wasted over 30 minutes fighting over whether the code to allow public breast feeding should say chest feeding for women or persons. They spent more time on that craziness than on how to deal with our ever worsening homeless problem! The world is literally falling apart at the seems and we are worried about correct pronoun usage?
Appreciate you being fair handed in your critique of the problem. Got a chuckle out of the 'Embassy of Frenchness'! And well I am still a woman, not a walking chest feeding vagina and anyone who does not like that can just kiss my non gender specific cervix if they dare!
This is another enlightening and thought-provoking article! The topic is one I consider often because language is often used to exclude and oppress. I’ve worked with underprivileged people for many years and when those in power use language and ideas that have been created for the elite, we reinforce the the lesser than narrative. Everyone in helping professions should read this article!
So much to love in this post by my erudite friend, Jim. You had me at “Word made flesh,” a godly acknowledgement that a stone tablet of commandments failed to command sufficient attention. Thus, walking the talk. Agree there’s too much bending over backwards to say what we mean, and we on “the left” (another nebulous term) need to rethink the empowerment of language. Cheers to you. Martini now, run in the morning!
Great article! We have gotten bogged down in semantic virtue signalling instead of directly helping real people in real ways. Which I think is kinda the point. Compelled speech is one of the last nails in the coffin of healthy, free flowing human interaction. If I have to over think every single word out of my mourh, then I am going to avoid talking deeply about anything with anyone. This PC language shit has created a time wasting nightmare in every single system we rely on for survival. Our local County Council which meets only twice a month, for a two hour session; wasted over 30 minutes fighting over whether the code to allow public breast feeding should say chest feeding for women or persons. They spent more time on that craziness than on how to deal with our ever worsening homeless problem! The world is literally falling apart at the seems and we are worried about correct pronoun usage?
Appreciate you being fair handed in your critique of the problem. Got a chuckle out of the 'Embassy of Frenchness'! And well I am still a woman, not a walking chest feeding vagina and anyone who does not like that can just kiss my non gender specific cervix if they dare!
This is another enlightening and thought-provoking article! The topic is one I consider often because language is often used to exclude and oppress. I’ve worked with underprivileged people for many years and when those in power use language and ideas that have been created for the elite, we reinforce the the lesser than narrative. Everyone in helping professions should read this article!
So much to love in this post by my erudite friend, Jim. You had me at “Word made flesh,” a godly acknowledgement that a stone tablet of commandments failed to command sufficient attention. Thus, walking the talk. Agree there’s too much bending over backwards to say what we mean, and we on “the left” (another nebulous term) need to rethink the empowerment of language. Cheers to you. Martini now, run in the morning!
Escellent! Very well said.