Language

“The misuse of language induces evil in the soul.” ~Socrates

Language is a powerful tool for controlling people. Every effective despot, dictator, warlord and clergyman in history was an effective orator who could use language to inspire and motivate. They understood that language can be used to influence people’s minds and beliefs. In the wrong hands it can convince people that wrong is right, war is peace, and having rulers is the price we pay for a civilized society. Politicians and the body politic are masters at manipulating language to their advantage in a number of different ways, and children are conditioned with these linguistic gymnastics in government schools from the very start.

Over the millennia, those who write the dictionaries and print the news, the “authoritative” sources for language and the definition of words, have succumbed to the pressure and influence of the State. Words have evolved to justify and legitimize government crime and to criminalize and punish innocent people of crimes they didn’t commit. This perversion of language plays an integral role in creating the necessary illusion and alternative reality defined by men and what they say is lawful rather than what is right as defined by morality and individual rights. Remember, slavery was the “lawful” owning of black people—so it wasn’t kidnapping and enslavement, it was “legalized” indentured servitude. How easy it is for the State to manipulate language to pervert reality to its liking.

I think most would agree that a fair understanding of stealing is taking something that doesn't belong to you without the owner's permission. Pretty simple; even children know what it means to steal. If you refer to just about any dictionary or online resource it will tell you that it's the “unlawful” taking of something that doesn't belong to you without the owner's permission. The meaning conveniently massaged to excuse stealing on the part of the State—effectively giving it a linguistic monopoly on crime that justifies the practical monopoly. Cops can steal your car, your money, your belongings from you right on the side of the road since “asset forfeiture” is “lawful,” even if you've been charged with nothing. So it's not stealing, it’s enforcing the law. Voila! See how the illusion works?

Assault, as you’d expect, is defined as the “unlawful” touching or attack using personal violence. Most definitions you find for assault will also use the word in a sentence referencing a police officer: “he pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer.” Subliminally implanting the notion that touching or use of violence of any kind, even in self-defense, against a police officer is a crime. Moving right along.

Murder is the “unlawful” killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the “unlawful” killing of another human being with malice aforethought, premeditated. Notice again how the State excuses its actions. Cops can murder people on the street, but since it was decided that it was a “lawful” shooting, it's not murder. The cop was just doing his job and he followed proper police procedure. Are we seeing a pattern yet?

At the same time the meaning of non-criminal activities have been criminalized. Fraud is simply deceiving someone for whatever reason. Whether it be something as simple as lying or running a con game, neither of which is an actual crime since no force was used, no rights were violated. Nobody has a right not to be lied to or not to be suckered. But over time the definition has become “the deliberate deception to secure unfair or “unlawful” gain...” Fraud criminalizes lying—condemning all of humanity to a life of crime—and at the same time excuses the State from the same consequences of their long and dubious history of lying and fraud that they’ve imposed on society. Because sometimes the people have to be lied to for matters of national security and for the children. Voila! Easy peasy, Japaneasy.

And when the State accuses someone of a non-crime where there’s no rights violation, i.e., no victim, they have to invent a victim, a strawman to stand in as the accuser. They call it “The State” or “The People” as if strawmen can be anthropomorphized into real people who have rights and can be wronged. It’s no different than the Santa Claus myth, another imaginary being watching over you and punishing you if don’t behave. Remember how liberating it was when you learned the truth that Santa wasn’t real? Just let that shit go.

The political use of language becomes comically insane when politicians use euphemisms and intentional ambiguity to describe and ostensibly justify their unethical and immoral behavior in order to keep the sheep coming back for more. What George Orwell called doublespeak in 1949 when he wrote the book 1984. Language that deliberately obscures, disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. The senator didn’t funnel taxpayer money through an offshore shell company to his re-election campaign fund, the money was somehow “misappropriated.” The congresswoman didn’t lie to the voters, she “misremembered” when she said she had to dodge rebel gun fire on a diplomatic mission to Serbia. Even though a CBS camera crew was with her on the trip and has video of the whole thing, she swears that’s not how she remembers it. The vice president didn’t approve million dollar bailouts to corporate CEOs who financed his campaign; his staffers “misinterpreted” his instructions and they “erroneously” put that language in the bill. Oh well, too late now, what are you going to do? The military didn’t commit international terrorism when they invaded and overthrew another country’s government, killing thousands of innocent people. They were “a force for good” and implemented “regime change” in order to “spread democracy” even if it killed the indigenous population. Sound familiar? Rinse and repeat.

There are certain nationalistic expressions that we’ve been conditioned to respond to which are meant to convince people they’re responsible for things they had nothing to do with, in yet another attempt to deflect responsibility from those with the dirty hands to the people. I don’t know why there even is a government, they don’t seem to be responsible for doing anything. How often have we heard a news report claim that “The US” did this or “The US” did that? As if “we’re all in this together,” so whatever a handful of people in the government does, all 320 million Americans are responsible for it. Or “your taxes,” as if you own and are responsible for something the government forces on you. The use of the definitive article “The” when referring to their “laws.” “The Law,” as if it is the one, mighty, all power “LAW” that must be obeyed. Reminds me of “The Great and Powerful Oz”: all just an illusion meant to intimidate and subjugate.

Politicians are experts at using language to dig the social rabbit hole and psychologically push people down it. They twist realty and convince good people they are bad while at the same time justifying their own criminal actions. I promise you it’s all an illusion. Always has been, always will be.

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