manipulation

 As I was scrolling Facebook this quote appeared in a meme.  “The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.” (Philip K. Dick) I had to stop and read that again. It is a profound statement. I'm not familiar with Philip K Dick and so went to look him up. He was a science fiction writer, probably why I don't know him not being a big science fiction fan, but according to Wikipedia he wrote 44 novels and 122 short stories. That's impressive. He passed away in 1982 but seems to have seen the future much like H.G. Wells or Jules Verne may have. There is certainly a lot of word manipulation going on today and it is indeed controlling the people!

 I have often said I believe there is little you can say that hasn't been said before. I have used a plagiarism checker in the past and found that to be true. In fact, I was amazed at how often the things I have written could be found to have been written before, almost word for word. Perhaps it is my subconscious, I read or heard that before and simply forgot. Whatever is going on I do know there are few original thoughts. The majority of them are only original to you. Then you have to manipulate those thoughts into words. The biggest influence on that will be the time frame in which you live. What is the current usage of words and phrases? The meaning certainly does change over time although I'd suggest the intent of those words do not. 

  Mr. Dick was speaking about the manipulation of reality. That isn't surprising considering he was writing science fiction. That was, after all, his stock in trade. He was manipulating reality in his own way, creating an imaginary one. I can see that taking place today with the choice of words. Take something as basic as this term used often enough today and striking fear into a lot of people, assault weapon. Exactly what is that anyway? No one really knows and the explanation of that is as muddled as the term itself. Hate speech is another one of those word manipulations. Hate is an emotion; speech is an expression of your thoughts or emotions. If I express positive thoughts, what do we call that? Being empowered, empowerment is often the word chosen these days. Wasn't many years ago that was simply encouragement. Today we hear people talking about the pre-born. What does that mean? Can't say it is a baby because that destroys this narrative of choice. Everyone knows you can't choose to kill a baby. You can choose to terminate the pre-born however. That changes the reality.

  Many years ago, the common term for a certain "community" was homosexuals or more the colloquial expression, queer. It meant that the person didn't conform to our society's idea of moral behavior. That was in regard to sexual relationships/encounters. Over time that developed into what we now call the LGBTQ+ community. I suppose that came about as those individuals wanted to clarify exactly what they represented. I'm guessing that didn't want to fall into just one category, sort of like national identity or racial and ethnic groupings. Interesting as identifying with a specific group occupies a lot of people's time, when it is to their advantage. But once again if we manipulate the meaning or words, we can control the people that must use those words, just as Mr. Dick said. 

  I wonder if he saw that coming. There is no doubt we are being forced to use certain words or terms. That is the basis for hate speech legislation. If you use the "wrong" terms you will be punished for doing so, at least if you say it out loud. Writing it down is a bit different, you have more flexibility. We are busy these days with pronouns! Did Mr. Dick envision a time that would become the issue that it has. There have been several cases being litigated based on pronoun usage. Talk about manipulating reality. I was born a biological male but "transitioned" into a female. So now you must use the pronoun I choose for you when addressing me. I'm even subject to penalty for not doing so. First off is this reality, you cannot transition into another gender. Until we can change the DNA of a person that isn't possible. It's simple logic. An old adage comes to mind, "you can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig." I don't feel like I should be forced to participate in your fantasies. I may choose to do so but that is my choice, not yours. 

  Yes, I agree 100% with Mr. Dick. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them. That's what I said, but not what I meant. How often have you heard someone say that. Politicians are the biggest offenders. The reason is obvious enough, they want to control you. If they can manipulate the words, alter their meaning, they can gain that control. They use terms like child poverty, diversity and inclusion. They throw around the idea of redistribution of wealth, quality of life and being marginalized. No more illegal aliens now they are asylum seekers. Juvenile delinquents are just troubled youth. Criminals don't commit crimes because they are bad people, they are crying out for help!  What does all that mean? It means something different to each and every one of us. The only solution is to litigate that! You will use these terms and no others. The manipulation of reality, just as Mr. Dick explained it to be.