{"id":9403,"date":"2012-08-31T11:56:55","date_gmt":"2012-08-31T11:56:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/2012\/08\/31\/montaigne-on-why-language-matters-2\/"},"modified":"2012-08-31T11:56:55","modified_gmt":"2012-08-31T11:56:55","slug":"montaigne-on-why-language-matters-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/2012\/08\/31\/montaigne-on-why-language-matters-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Montaigne on Why Language Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Allan J. writes,<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

You often speak of the importance of using language responsibly, i.e. not like a librul.
\nSo I thought you would enjoy this:
\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cOur understanding is conducted solely by means of the word: anyone who falsifies it betrays public society. It is the only tool by which we communicate our wishes and our thoughts; it is our soul\u2019s interpreter: if we lack that, we can no longer hold together; we can no longer know each other. When words deceive us, it breaks all intercourse and loosens the bonds of our polity.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Montaigne<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Montaigne's point is mine.  Language matters.  It deserves respect as the vehicle and enabler of our thoughts and — to change the metaphor — the common currency for the exchange of ideas.  To tamper with the accepted meanings of words in order  to secure argumentative or political advantage is a form of cheating.  Wittgenstein likened languages to games.  But games have rules, and we cannot tolerate those who change the rules mid-game.  We must demand of our opponents that they use language responsibly, and engage us on the common terrain of accepted usage.<\/span><\/p>\n

The violation of accepted usage is a common ploy of contemporary liberals.  Some examples:  <\/span><\/p>\n

Minimal ID requirements are said to disenfranchise<\/em> certain classes of voters.  The common sense requirements amount to voter suppression<\/em>.  They are described absurdly as an onerous<\/em> barrier to voting."
\nOnerous?  Barrier?  In Pennsylvania a photo ID can be had free of charge.  In Arizona it costs a paltry $12 and is good for 12 years.  If you are 65 or older, or on SS disability, it is free.<\/span><\/p>\n

People who insist on the rule of law with respect to immigation are called xenophobic<\/em>.  And then there are the cheaply-fabricated  neologistic  '-phobe' compounds.  One who rationally articulates a principled position against same-sex marriage is dismissed as homophobic<\/em>.  One who draws attention to the threat of radical Islam is denounced as Islamophobic<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The sheer stupidity of these mendacious coinages ought to disgust anyone who can think straight.  A phobia is an irrational fear.  But the proponents of traditional marriage have no fear of homosexuals or their practices, let alone an irrational fear of them.  And those alive to the threat of radical Islam may be said to fear it, but the fear is rational.<\/span><\/p>\n

Liberals can't seem to distinguish dissent from hate<\/em>.  So they think that if you dissent from liberal positions, then you hate liberals.  How stupid can a liberal be?  "You disagree with liberal ideas, therefore you are a hater!"   Even worse: "You differ with a black liberal's ideas, therefore you are a hater and a racist!"<\/span><\/p>\n

'Unilateral.'  John Nichols of the The Nation <\/em>appeared on the hard-Left show, "Democracy Now," on the morning of 2 September 2004. Like many libs and lefties, he misused 'unilateral' to mean 'without United Nations   support.' In this sense, coalition operations against Saddam Hussein's regime were 'unilateral' despite the the fact that said operations were precisely those of a coalition of some thirty <\/span>countries.  The same willful mistake was made by his boss Victor Navasky on 17 July 2005 while being <\/span>
interviewed by David Frum on C-Span 2.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are plenty more examples, e.g., 'white Hispanic.'   When Republicans had control of the presidency and both houses of Congress, Dems whined about a 'one-party system.'  Exercise for the reader: find more examples of liberal misuse of language.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Allan J. writes, You often speak of the importance of using language responsibly, i.e. not like a librul. So I thought you would enjoy this: \u201cOur understanding is conducted solely by means of the word: anyone who falsifies it betrays public society. It is the only tool by which we communicate our wishes and our … Continue reading “Montaigne on Why Language Matters”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,163,548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-language-matters","category-leftism-and-political-correctness","category-montaigne"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9403\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}