Why Language Matters; Control Language and You'll Control the World

When I say "capitalism" what's the first that comes to your mind?

Freedom? Prosperity? Well being?

Probably not.

It's more likely the things that spring to mind are things such as unemployment, poverty, hopelessness, the wealthy few oppressing the unlucky many. Et cetera, and so on.

This is because the word "capitalism" carries with it a particular connotation, and that connotation is by no means an accident.

It's the result of years, decades, and centuries of manipulation by people who oppose the idea of free trade. This connotation has taught people to resist their freedom at all costs.

What I'm trying to say is language holds an immense power; language is way more than merely a tool to convey our ideas, it is, in fact, language that can dictate our ideas.

I've felt for a long time now that people on the right have blind spots when it comes to things like culture and language, which is probably because people on the right tend to be more into the pure practicality of things, instead of studying them further.

It's not just the left that's done this historically; language manipulation has been a political tool throughout history, but currently, the left is the political movement most prominent in changing our language.

You can take a phrase like sexism, for instance.

Here in the west, we've been taught that both sexes are equal, and therefore sexism is wrong.

Sexism, in and of itself, has a very negative connotation. No one wants to be a sexist, and it's generally agreed that sexism is wrong, and should not be practiced.

Let's say that by sexism people mean discriminating against a person based on his or her gender.

Since "equality" has a feel-good connotation to it, and sexism is its opposite, sexism becomes wrong.

And we can accept that.

But let's say the definition of sexism starts to move around and broaden. Before you know it, sexism means hiring a more qualified male employee, instead of a less qualified female employee.

Now, the negative connotation of the word "sexism" remains intact; it's just that it starts to mean different things, slowly but surely.

People still refuse to identify as sexists, because they know that being sexist is wrong, so they change their behavior by starting to reject hiring a more qualified male employee, and instead aspire for what will then become known as "equality." In other words, they employ a less skilled female in order to prevent being sexist.

They also begin to reject companies that still engage in the old employment practices.

The above is just a minor example.

The same mechanisms can be applied to words such as "racism", as well as phrases like "sexual harassment".

First, sexual harassment means touching someone against their will, which people react to negatively.

And similarly, the adverse reaction remains, but the definition of the word changes from touching someone to merely flirting at a bar.

The left has always been exceptionally skilled with connotations; it's all about feelings, and manipulating emotions is probably the most efficient form of manipulation there is since most people won't even notice.

Just like an Audi commercial makes you feel inadequate as a man, unless you own an Audi, and makes you want to spend your money on one, the left uses the same techniques when it comes to language.

Notice how the left calls themselves liberals, by the way?

Ever wondered why that is?

It's because freedom has such a positive connotation. Everybody wants to be free with no one telling them what to do and when to do it.

However, studying the actual behavior from the left, it's easy to see that they support anything but freedom, and in are opposed to it in a multitude of ways.

But, again, they have changed the definition of the word "freedom".

In liberal-speak, freedom means the freedom to whatever the hell you want, without being responsible for anything, whereas classic liberalism always emphasized the personal responsibility that comes with individual freedom.

People react positively to freedom; ergo, like Pavlov's dogs, they respond positively to modern liberalism.

This changing of definitions can, and does, hugely affect how people view the world around them. If, for instance, sexual harassment means receiving innocent flirting at a nightclub, people start to talk about how much they experience sexual harassment, and it distorts the idea of how prevalent sexual harassment is.

Let's say we begin to talk about littering by using the word "murder".

Soon enough, your view of the world has completely changed when the people around have admitted to committing murder at least three times this week alone.

Your view of the world now has nothing to do with reality. You think the world is a lot more dangerous and violent than it actually is.

This is why I've written about several times already that language is important, damn it. And definitions are important. Language is a critically important tool for us to use.

Let's not it fall into the wrong hands because, in the wrong hands, it's the most dangerous weapon of mass destruction of them all.

When you control language, you control the people who use the language.