« The Exploding Toilet | Main | Because »

April 14, 2013

"Words are forever in flux. "

Both “liberal” and “progressive” now mean almost the opposite

of what they did a century ago. Such semantic squabbling also leads to absurdities such as how the phrase “colored person” was deemed hateful and replaced with the far more sensitive “person of color.” Terms such as “racist” are almost never applied to nonwhites, and if you dare tell a militant feminist that she’s “sexist,” she may scratch out your eyeballs. Language as an Assault Weapon

Posted by gerardvanderleun at April 14, 2013 4:39 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

Your Say

"Progressive" as a tag for a political ideology never did mean "in favor of progress." It always was a statist monstrosity that used "progress" as a stalking-horse. All quotes about the perfidy of meddling in another's life "for his own good" apply.

True progress lies in the continual enhancement of individual liberty and opportunity.

Nothing else.

M

Posted by: Mark Alger at April 14, 2013 2:25 PM

The problem with letting the left define words is if you use them to frame your argument, you have already accepted their point of view and are arguing from a weakened defensive position.

It annoys the hell out of me to hear Republican politicians and conservative radio hosts use leftist buzzwords de jour and terms like "middle class" like they're living in the 20th Century UK. Go on the offensive, fight back, and redefine their weasel words for them into the truth.

Posted by: Mike at April 14, 2013 5:05 PM

Post a comment




Remember Me?

(you may use HTML tags for style)