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The Perils of Linguistic Debasement
[American Thinker] Absent sound money, a modern economy would revert to primitive barter where a cow might cost three goats. The introduction of money, at least in principle, solved relying on barter, but this also brought counterfeiting. Now, a dishonest person might debase a coin’s true value by filing off their edges or minting fake coins that replaced silver with lead. The rise of paper money similarly invited deceit -- inflation -- when cash-strapped governments just printed yet more paper currency until only the paper had value, so this "money" became wallpaper, even toilet paper.Governments thus have strict laws regarding debasing currency. When Issac Newton was appointed Warden of the Royal Mint in 1695, he tortured and executed counterfeiters. Article I, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution assigns the federal government the power to coin and regulate the currency and the power to punish counterfeiting. Section 10 prohibits states from issuing money other than those made from silver or gold. Today, many fear that the U.S. Treasury will render the dollar valueless by printing up trillions of greenbacks. Both the dollar and the English language are mediums of exchange, and just as a dollar bill can become worthless, words can deteriorate into gobbledygook. Unfortunately, with no Secret Service to prevent linguistic debasement, American politics seems to be undergoing an epidemic-like linguistic inflation akin to the German currency inflation of 1923 when the mark became virtually valueless. It is not that English is adding new words or that old words evolve; rather, innumerable words are losing their original meaning, a situation akin to a currency becoming valueless. Such "linguistic inflation" is particularly evident in the victimhood vocabulary where terms are stretched into meaninglessness for political gain. "Racism" is undoubtedly the most extreme example, and almost anything can now be deemed "racist." Like gravity, racism is everywhere and like gravity, its impact is, allegedly, undeniable. Indeed, inventing new forms of racism has become a thriving industry and its inventors often claim "racism" can be nearly invisible ("implicit racial bias") and atmospheric in its impact -- "systemic racism" and "structural racism." A similarly linguistic debasement afflicts "hate." What was once just a strong aversion, dislike or loathing has been transformed into mere disagreement. Now, objection to same-sex marriage has been redefined as hating homosexuals, so opposition to a court-mandated public policy makes one "homophobic." Ditto for disagreeing with those endorsing surgery to alter a person’s biological sex or allowing boys to compete in girls’ sports -- all, allegedly, "transphobic." Significantly, appending "phobic" to this newly expanded hate definition conveys an element of mental illness implying that the cure for hate in not reasoned rejoinders but mental counseling. Posted by: Besoeker 2025-07-30 |
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