Sterling’s Truths for Life #18

Words mean things.

grammar humanity

Further Explanation

It is amazing how often a word is used in such a way as to negate its meaning in order to win an argument. If I start a conversation with you and describe how my tiger is so tame, so soft, so adorable and loving, it just loves to lap milk from its little bowl, rub up against my leg, and look up at me with it’s adorable little eyes, you’d suppose I was crazy. However, by tiger, I mean my kitty cat named Tiger, so I’m not crazy, I just changed the definition of tiger.

The same happens all the time in political and philosophical rhetoric. A Mormon may proclaim he believes in the Christian Godhead, but if you look up the definition of Godhead in a Mormon theological text you will find a completely different definition from the one defined in the Apostles’ Creed. A politician may similarly redefine taxes taken by force and given to others as charity when it’s little more than legislated theft. Taxes can be a good, but they can also be an evil.

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Copyright © 2016 Sterling Hanenkamp.