Defining

  Change the meaning of the word and you change the reaction people have to that word. It is something I have been talking about for some time now, this redefining. When I was in elementary school we had a classroom devoted to those children labeled, retarded. I know, sounds terrible right? But at that time retarded just meant they were a little behind, like retarding the spark on an engine. It was just something held back a bit. Today we call those children special needs children. I don't see them as needing anything special at all, just time and patience. Treat them as you would treat any other child and eventually they will catch up. I even read where that was being proposed by a highly educated and respected member of the psychiatric community. It's a progressive approach. Yeah, like we did back in 1963.

  Queer certainly has changed in meaning several times over the years, along with gay. I remember when we said someone was acting queer it meant they were doing something odd, out of the ordinary, or out of character for them. During Christmas we were all gay, today not so much, unless you identify with a community of gay people. In recent years trans people have arrived on the scene, they're gay too. Wasn't that long ago they were considered mentally ill people that required treatment. It was called gender dysphoria. It lead to psychological distress. The cure, it has been determined, is to simply tell those folks it is completely normal to feel like that. Don't be upset, we have drugs and surgeries for that now, it's fine. It isn't a mental issue after all. We can now treat any dysphoria you may be experiencing. Better living through chemistry. We call that mental health. Back in the day we called it being medicated. People whose bubble was just off of plumb a bit were treated like that. 

  Abortion has certainly changed in meaning as well. It was known as a illegal procedure to abort the birth of a child. That was back when we all knew and understood if a woman was pregnant, no matter how long she had been in that condition, the expected result was the birth of a child. Yes, if you were pregnant, you would have a baby. You really didn't have a choice about that, it was what was going to happen. It's true that it wasn't 100% guaranteed, there were instances of problems and miscarriages that prevented that from happening, but generally speaking it was expected a baby would be born. Today many feel like an abortion is a constitutional right. It's just a choice you can make, life or death. Nothing wrong with doing that. Strange how we decided the death sentence for even the most heinous criminals is just inhuman but the death sentence for an unborn child, well, that's a valid choice, no issue there. 

  Illegal aliens are now undocumented migrants. Yeah, those people just migrated into our country without bothering to tell anyone about that. In the real estate world they would be called squatters. As far back as the 1600's in north America people were squatting on land that didn't belong to them. They were simply migrating west. In years past they were called explorers and settlers. We celebrated them, even have a holiday remembering one in particular. Today we have folks squatting in homes that don't belong to them and it is taking a court ordered removal to get them out. It's no different with these illegal aliens but now we are giving the squatters food, medical care, a free education and citizenship. We're still debating the whole housing issue. 

  Yeah, things have changed alright. Some of those giving all that to those illegals also say we should give the land back to the Indians because we squatted on their land. Well, the land that we took by force or was sold to us. Then there were those that just went west and squatted on that land without filing any claim, deeds, or paperwork to establish ownership. It was undocumented. They just went there and squatted down like a liberal at a gay parade! Eventually most were removed by force. There were just refugees from the cities in the east, migrating west, seeking a better life for their families. But history records them as, squatters. Seems like we should be celebrating their heroism today! Consider all the strife and struggle they had to endure just to get there. Those poor refugees.

  This redefining takes place with every generation that comes along. I get that, I understand that but I don't like it. If we can't define the rules how can we expect to continue to play the game? Just how we all arrive at a common definition is something I have no answer for. Each of us are different in our views and ideas. I call it the acceptance of reality. Reality is defined by the majority, as is normal. If you can convince the majority of the people that something is normal, it will be accepted as the reality. Remember there were civilizations that actually believed human sacrifice was an acceptable means to satisfy the gods. It was the normal and expected thing, a reality of life within that society. You begin that process by redefining the meaning of a single word. Normal is that word. Make an action normal and everyone will accept it. 

  The only problem being, defining what is normal. Normal is established by conformity. But conformity is a bad thing; right? Yes, those that refuse to conform will tell you that. What is good is bad and bad is good, that's the narrative. Do as I say and everything will be just fine, failure to conform to the rules will result in punishment. The rules are subject to change at any moment. I know that is what it says, but that isn't what it means. I'll tell you the accepted meaning at this time, just conform to that. I'll tell you when it changes. Conservative now means you are a Republican supporter of Donald Trump. Liberal means you are a Democrat attempting to establish a socialist state. There are no other meanings for those words.