North Star Writers Group

If patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, it would seem the dictionary is the first these days. From President Clinton famously redefining "sex" and almost unfathomably (even this far after the fact) attempting to redefine "is"; from President Bush redefining "amnesty" to same-sex marriage (or should I say "civil union") proponents obliterating "husband" and "wife" in favor of the deliberately vague "partner;" no one and nothing has taken the beating as of late that the Queen's English has.

George Orwell was all too prescient in his novel 1984 with his portrayal of language being infinitely elastic and malleable, and thus very suitable for scoundrels to cloak their actions. About the only thing he missed was being about 20 years too early in timeframe. A few of my favorites, in no particular order:

Treason Is Patriotism -- This is my own paraphrase of Orwell, taken from the far-left anti-Iraq War types who think publicly trashing America and helping it to be defeated as best you can actually shows just how much you "love" it. (If that's love, I don't particularly want to see hate.)
Amnesty -- You broke the law by entering America, and we're going to let you off the hook for it, but dang it, it's not amnesty. Why not? Well, uh, because it just isn't and we said so! (Never mind that my dictionary couldn't provide a better description of what is being proposed than its definition of amnesty: "The act of an authority [as a government] by which pardon is granted to a large group of individuals.")
Marriage -- Whether it's slapping same-sex couplings with the "civil unions" label and pretending it's something different, or substituting "partner" for "husband/wife" so as to obliterate the unique procreative nature of the institution that necessarily disqualifies all but one-man/one-woman pairings, the word marriage has been taking a beating as of late.
Oral Sex Isn't Sex -- Thanks to Clinton, stories of pre-teens casually "not having sex" are now legion. The Real Clinton Legacy. One is hard-pressed to believe that, absent this famous evasion, we would be observing such an increase in this behavior.
Diversity -- Two criticisms: One, it's a fact and not a value. Two, as a general rule, those who preach it the most (i.e. liberals) at times seem to practice it the least (i.e. toward conservatives).
"Investing In [blank]" -- Raising taxes and spending more.
"Cuts" -- Spending more than last year, but not as much more as some would like. I've heard of "less is more," but this would be "more is less."
Appropriate/Inappropriate -- Or as we used to call them, Right and Wrong.

I could go on for quite some time, but I trust my point is clear. Once upon a time, words meant things – things that were fixed and unchanging. And someone who tried to pull a fast one was called on it, if they even tried in the first place, given how much more difficult it was to do when there was no such thing as "spin." Not anymore. Now one has to give an entire vocabulary refresher course before even beginning a discussion, if spending the entire time simply arguing over definitions is to be avoided. If we are ever to have a real and honest debate over the major issues of the day, we must reclaim our language first. And if it hurts or helps particular issues or causes or groups as a result, so be it.

One can laugh at this--and there is much to laugh about, to be sure--but there is something much bigger at stake here. Clear language is a direct reflection of the moral strength of a nation and a people. If we stand idly by and let the things we hold dear be simply redefined out of existence or morphed into other things we no longer recognize, what does that say about us? Our willingness to defend the true meaning of words – or lack thereof – will go a long way in determining just what our future holds.

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