Language Equity

In those haze filled moments between sleep and wakefulness this morning, I thought of a subject to write about followed by my first sentence. The brilliance of that sentence has faded some since my feet hit the floor; but let me tell you, it was Pulitzer worthy. .......... Okay, okay, it wasn't. But it did make me laugh out loud at how ridiculous it was. I guess it actually was more of something one might read in an Alice in Wonderland novel. Might make sense on the second run through. And then again. it might not.

It bothers me that I cannot retrieve that sentence from the many mutters that clutter my mind. I have heard that with a high enough IQ properly focused, a person can remember every moment, word, every thought they ever had. Given that I barely have a high enough IQ to know which side of the bread to butter, remembering what I did an hour ago when I was waking up can be a challenge.

Later this morning I opened my latest edition of the "Atlantic Monthly". In a section they call "Dispatches", was the op/ed, "The moral case against Euphemism", by George Packer.

Anyone who knows me, knows I pack my politics to the Left. And anyone who knows me better than just kinda knows me, knows I will call out the stupidity of either side when it raises its head enough to catch my attention. 

I have taken notice that there are forces on both sides of the aisle who would rid us of notions, concepts, and odious freedoms they feel insult them and thus must insult all of us here in America. Both sides do it. But at the moment, the Right is the elephant in the china shop with their new "anti-woke" policies. Because the Wingers have the loudest voices now, the Liberal fringes have been able to work their own kind of evil magic under the radar of public awareness. Much of their focus has been to edit the language we use everyday.

 According to George, there is a countrywide effort to rid our language of any word that might be perceived as hateful, mean, demeaning, or even hint that someone somewhere might take offense once that word has entered their brain. It is called Language Equity.

This arbitrary adjustment of the status quo in our language apparently was spawned in the back rooms of academia over at least the last 50 years or so. It has spread throughout the nation and into the fabric of organizations and governments, public and private. PR manuals have been written with a new harsher emphasis on kinder and gentler language to use when attempting to win converts to their cause, their product, their beliefs. 

I agree there are words that are no doubt hurtful, incendiary and should be stricken from our national lexicon. Like many good ideas that are over zealously put into play, it now appears that between Language Equity and the Pronoun Fad, every word we speak is under suspicion of harboring hidden slurs, denigrating codes that are used by Evil people to communicate with each other in a sort of wink, wink, dash dash manner. I'm sorry, but I am of the opinion most words mean what Webster decided they meant hundreds of years ago.

These well meaning people are now deep into some kind of witch hunt where every word is suspect. Left unchecked, they might turn our beautiful language into a bland and empty reminder of what it once was. Words are being cleansed and banished at an astonishing rate. It is as if we now are to assume our fellow humans are not intelligent enough to understand context at the same time they are reading. If that is the case, then we have deeper problems than offending someone with words on paper or screen.

According to George, this new "Language Equity" is the offspring of just a few sources, two of which are "A Progressive's Style Guide" and the "Racial Equity Tools" glossary. The number of edits and deleted words seems almost infinite. As an example; Don't use the word "battle". It might incite a PTSD incident or drive someone to violent outbursts. For some reason the word "Blind" is frowned upon. The list is long enough in the "Progressive's Style Guide", it would give some dictionaries a run for their money. Their efforts are gutting the English language of its soul, its many hues, all in an effort keep folks from having the Blues.

The Ultra Right are doing their best to erase history and criminalize previously enjoyed rights. The Uber Left are doing their best to sanitize our language and strip it of its passion, intensity; its essence. Between the two of them, the results may not be what any of us foresaw or wanted. 

We need to take back control from the fringes of the Left and the Right. Allowing the minorities of both sides to dictate the conversations and messaging regarding our future goals and commitments quite often rely on poorly conceived knee jerk policies that force change rather than let it evolve organically; in its own time. Change will happen. We should not be so quick and thoughtless about the pace at which we allow it to happen.

Keep it 'tween the ditches ............................

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Hateful words, sadful words and gladful words are part and parcel of our collective souls. All of them have a place in our English lexicon. The many words available that evoke and vent the emotions of a moment, an interaction or disappointment, can be cathartic and soul cleansing. To that end, here are the Avert Brothers with their song 10,000 words.