Semantic Nonsense

One of the most infuriating aspects of political correctness is the tendency of its adherents to distort the meanings of words and then banter those words about as though they are the only ones who truly know what those words mean. If it stopped there, it wouldn't be such a big problem. Unfortunately, their virtual stranglehold on academia and television and print media allow them the opportunity to impress these distortions upon young and impressionable minds. After two generations of such impressment, we now find ourselves in a society where a disturbing number of our youth can barely pronounce the words they speak, to say nothing of understanding the meaning behind them. For instance, I overheard my teenage sister the other day speaking with one of her friends about "pimping" the appearance of her Myspace page. I don't know how much cannabis was involved in leading someone to conclude that it was a good idea to teach children that the word "pimp" could ever be used in a positive context, but I could only shake my head at the sheer horror on my sister's face when I explained to her what the word "pimp" really means.

I have had similar struggles trying to explain to some of my younger relatives the difference between what they "want" and what they "need." Ditto for my attempts to properly define the words "freedom," "tolerance," "dialogue," "equality," and "discrimination" in my debates with liberals. At the risk of sounding condescending, I think it is important to understand the distinctions between the real meanings and the politically correct meanings of these and countless other words before one can engage in an intelligent and fruitful discussion about their proper application.

Just some thoughts for starters. I plan to devote entire blog posts to exploring the meaning and proper application of a number of these words in due time. In the meantime, feel free to comment and share your thoughts. God bless!


In Jesus and Mary,
Gerald