Saying What We Mean

Over at the Eternity Road, Francis W. Poretto has unleashed the Curmudgeon again with On Saying the Right Thing. Would that I were able to produce such prose as a Curmudgeon rant. But we do what we can.

The Curmudgeon's point however, is that our language has been, and is being polluted on a daily basis by those who, quite frankly, are lying to us. The use of euphemisms to get out of calling a spade by its real name has become a national tragedy. The Curmudgeon:

If Orwell and your Curmudgeon are correct in their belief that the rectification of our language is essential to undoing our political sins and restoring freedom to these United States, this business of using "rights" and "values" interchangeably should be our first target. After all, what is the premise for any argument for "universal health care?" Health care is a human right. What is the premise for any argument against the right to keep and bear arms? The value you place on toting a gun matters less than others' right to walk the streets without fear. What is the premise for any argument against restrictions on abortion? A woman has a right to control her own body; the fetus has no rights we're bound to respect. And what is the premise for your argument against aiding the freedom movement in Iran, President Obama? Does it apply equally to Honduras's conduct of its own sovereign affairs? If not, why not?

Learning to say what we really mean, and requiring others to do so as well, is critical to our nation's future. Haul a duplicitous statist mouthpiece up by his rhetorical short hairs at your next opportunity; you'll be doing more for the cause of freedom than you can imagine.

Here the Curmudgeon hits on a topic dear to my heart, the deliberate obfuscation of meaning by conflating and confusing ideas to make something sound more inthe mainstream of American thought than it really is. Rights are attributes of being human. Having a right does not generate an obligation on anyone else to provide you with that right. For example, you have a right to life. But nobody has an obligation therefore to feed you, to house you, to clothe you. You may exercise your right to life by living in a cave, eating honey and locusts, and wearing a leather loin cloth. What no one has the right to do is to take your life. On the other hand, no one has an obligation to defend your life either,especially the police. You have a right to arms for your defense of your life. You do not have to exercise that right, nor is anyone obligated to provide you with arms. On the other hand, you do not have right to feel safe, particularly if feeling safe imposes on the rights of others to be armed. I have felt perfectly safe in a crowd of people all carrying side arms. Several times. Where you choose to feel safe is entirely within your own control. But enough.

My wife was working, with her daughter, to potty train our grand daughter. Of course, she used words like "make stinky" to describe the act of shitting. I suggested that the verb "to shit" was a more precise description. Of course I got frowns, and she informed me that using such terminology would make the child sound unsophisticated. Perhaps, but it would also teach her right from the start to say what she means. Perhaps we all need to sound less sophisticated, and say what we mean.