Citizens should use language carefully and know what they’re talking about
Editor:
This is a big week coming. An inauguration, as impeachment and an investigation into insurrection. I respectfully submit we should focus on ourselves, language – how we use and it and what we listed to! Voltaire said, “those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
The recent storming of the Capitol was done by a lot of misguided people. No one can get a mulligan for going into a restricted area, destroying federal property and/or threatening our elected officials. First, while I disagree with MAGA types some of them were not insurrectionists but simply were around because they believed some absurdities they had been told.
But more importantly were crazy QAnon Trump supporters who thought that Jan 6, 2021 was the “Storm” and it was time to kill Congressmen and install Trump as the permanent dictator.
Then, just as deranged, there was the ever present white supremacists and Bro Nazis who only care about overthrowing the US. They think there are hoards who will jump up and join them if they kill enough to be taken seriously. (Their new hero Trump let them out of the bottle which had held pretty well since 1995 when they killed hundreds of children in Oklahoma City.)
Who did what will have to be sorted out. And our Senate will have to decide what to do about President misleading them, summoning the crazy people amongst them to DC and telling them all to commit serious felonies and advance into a restricted security area – many openly and also illegally in a security area packing guns for a fight.
But really with an inauguration and a new start its gives us a moment to look at the words which inflamed many of these people and got them in this trouble. There are dozens of examples but I will write about socialism and free markets. Those are two of the many words I see thrown about without definition or understanding – absurdly inciting people over nothing here in the US!
The words Capitalism and the Free Market are great words when used correctly. The plain truth, however, is that the only “unregulated” “free market” is the underground Black Market! And the plain truth is that the only economic system that does not use capitalist economics is Communism!
Honestly, since the US makes it easy for a. hidden charges, b. false or misleading advertising, c. products with hidden problems, the US is a major violator when is permits skirting the rules of capitalism requiring transparency in order to accurately price what we buy.
The real debate is really who, what, where, when, why, how much and if we want to do any job properly.
Similarly, everyone knows that Switzerland is most capitalist country in the World! But the fact is that Obamacare is just a watered down version of the Swiss subsidized private insurance system. (Did not know that? Ha.)
While some say all people deserve access to health care others accurately point out that it’s also cheaper to have insurance than leaving people without any assistance at all. So what is the beef? The beef is so many on this and many other issues get taken in by people crying “wolf”. In this case it led to people dying and others soon going to prison.
Speech is a powerful thing. To use it responsibly you have to know the subject matter. We are at a time with a new administration when I believe is time to listen and learn, not fight reflexive based on absurdities. Biden’s goal is to make the marketplace for everyone. That is not absurd.
Conrad F. Cropsey
Albion
