This reminds me of what happened in the book "1984". In that fictional book, the authoritarian government was in a process of narrowing down of the language, so that there were less and less words that could be used by the people. This process of using less words benefitted the power structure because if people do not possess certain words then it becomes almost impossible for them to hold certain concepts in their minds, to ask certain questions, to criticize certain things about society. Yes, it is true that many words have been subverted, but abandoning these words is to commit intellectual suicide and to diminish our ability to use critical thinking.
One interesting word is "radical" this word has come to be used to describe anyone who has crazy or extreme political views, and many times implies that they tend towards possible violence. I also doubt that many of the people who use the word in this way actually stop to wonder the meaning. The word Radical means simply 'to go to the root'. It has always meant this and has the same meaning when used in mathematics (when searching for the square root of a number). So, this is a very useful word because it points to the importance of looking to and addressing root causes when thinking about politics or social issues. This ''root-cause" thinking is very rare in out political discussions and instead the focus is alway on symptoms and a never ending stream of proposal for patch-work solutions.
These words should not be abandoned but should be retaken. If a person does not know the meaning of a word or is misusing it then this is a wonderful opportunity for conversation, for the spreading of information, which is usually more powerful for social change and progress than any party politics could dream of being.
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