How Linguistic Manipulation Is Further Dividing Us
wrongspeak.substack.com
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.” “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” I am a fan of the well-crafted phrase, “Le mot juste,” as Sideshow Bob once said. It should come as no surprise that language is important to me. Words have meaning and even when they lack a poetic turn, an agreement on what words mean is essential to communication. Change “literally” to mean the same thing as “figuratively,” as
Media politization (new word?) has been widely evident since the NY Post's laptop story. The long delay of previously 'reputable' news outlets (Washing Post, NYT) in reporting on the laptop, after loudly denouncing it, has had an effect on many people. The bias reporting sites have added another layer to news consumers that they don't care to utilize. I think the next election cycle will tell where these 'news drifters' will settle.
Amen Phillip. This perspective is my baseline for having political discussions. I was a hard-core conservative kool-aid drinker for 20+ years. Felt like I had to be the watchman on the tower to protect my family from the deceit and evils of the leftist coming storm. You know what I realized? I was just frustrated and angry all the time and avoided conversations with anyone remotely liberal. I got tired of being sick and tired. I’m on the fence now and I see more clearly the tactics that are used by all sides. I think if we has humans can at least acknowledge the fact that we all may being deceived before we engage in conversations with our neighbors, then, I think, real and robust conversation can be had.
"Our tendency to forgive our side for its lies and spin while decrying the same behavior in our political opponents."
Yes! This is one of our biggest problems. How can we expect people to get honest with us if we can't get honest with ourselves?
Semantic distortion is the root of all gaslighting. Beware of activists wielding twisted, self-serving redefinitions of terms.
https://twitter.com/Alan_L_Lovejoy/status/1638944475048476672
Media politization (new word?) has been widely evident since the NY Post's laptop story. The long delay of previously 'reputable' news outlets (Washing Post, NYT) in reporting on the laptop, after loudly denouncing it, has had an effect on many people. The bias reporting sites have added another layer to news consumers that they don't care to utilize. I think the next election cycle will tell where these 'news drifters' will settle.
Amen Phillip. This perspective is my baseline for having political discussions. I was a hard-core conservative kool-aid drinker for 20+ years. Felt like I had to be the watchman on the tower to protect my family from the deceit and evils of the leftist coming storm. You know what I realized? I was just frustrated and angry all the time and avoided conversations with anyone remotely liberal. I got tired of being sick and tired. I’m on the fence now and I see more clearly the tactics that are used by all sides. I think if we has humans can at least acknowledge the fact that we all may being deceived before we engage in conversations with our neighbors, then, I think, real and robust conversation can be had.