Words, Words, Words
If you’re like me, you once spent a cold night on the desert defending yourself against snakes outside of a certain secret underground oasis where there was either a tall woman or a short man waiting with the missing piece to a very old map because your cold made the password sound like a terrible insult in the local dialect.
As I found out that evening and hopefully you’ve discovered in less venomy ways, words have power. Words have such power that some legal contracts aren’t activated unless certain words are spoken like a magic spell. Some words are banned, others are only used in certain places or by certain folk. Words are so powerful in fact, that we even give them moral value. We have good words and bad words which has always seemed like a silly concept to me. How can a word have a moral value?
I’ve always been a fan of George Carlin and so it’s with a tip of my hat to him that I offer this response. There are no bad words. There are bad thoughts. Bad intentions. Bad actions maybe. Then there are words. Words are the tools we use to convey the ideas and thoughts and it seems odd to think of a tool as bad or good. The thought or idea that the tool represents might be bad, but the word itself is a neutral symbol for ease in communication. I would offer that if you would claim to be offended by a word, you’re probably more accurately offended by the idea behind it.
Focusing on the distinction between word and idea is how some words have come to represent different concepts over the years. Sure we have definitions that are relatively eternal, but the art and intention with which words are used makes a word pliable. As I’ve talked about in previous articles, one of the key features of a symbol is its ability to change with the idea it represents. That’s one of the most beautiful things about words and why I love them so. They are infinitely adaptable while still being tied to base concepts.
Some words have such a powerful concept behind them that they are banned altogether form “polite society.” Of course, being a Carlin fan, I’m not a big supporter of that kind of censorship and if we’re honest, most of us don’t speak with the limited lexicon our grandmothers would prefer. For many of us, the main cause of censorship is children. “We can’t have children using that kind of adult language.” Here again, I would ask is it the word, or the idea?
Are “fudge” and the other word really that different when used as expressions of anger? I have used both as synonyms when falling down the stairs. They have very different base definitions, but the ideas behind them in that moment are united. I would offer that the distinction comes from the other word having other associated ideas. More high-concept ideas that take a degree of responsibility that some children, (and a number of adults) don’t have. Using a word isn’t bad, but using a word without taking responsibility for the thoughts behind it, that’s bad.
Words matter. The way we use them matters more. A word is only “bad” by virtue of how it is used and the thought the user uses that word to represent. We are responsible for the ideas behind the words we use. If an individual cannot take the responsibility, that individual should not be using those words. To use words carelessly is to think carelessly.
