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Honest language is key to honest thinking
Dear Editor,
I have long believed that language must grow and change in order to stay relevant and “alive.” My beef with our language has to do with the way we adopt sometimes silly and/or even grammatically incorrect phrases as our usage changes. I have gotten used to phrases like “going forward,” a dangling verbal grammatical error (Who is going forward?) that replaced “in the future.” But we don’t worry about grammar so long as we make our meaning clear. I often hear “at the end of the day,” which, I guess, replaced “later.” These examples are mildly annoying to me, but not necessarily offensive.
The trendy phrase that drives me nuts, however, is this latest use of the words “food insecurity.” “Food insecurity?” Seriously? That highly euphemistic couple of words has replaced what I consider to be the correct, honest words “hunger” and “starvation.”
“Food insecurity” is more sanitary than “hunger” or “starvation,” but it is insulting to people who suffer from hunger and starvation. It is so stupidly ridiculous, in fact, that it sounds like people who suffer from it may just need a pill to lift their mood, or perhaps how about some psychiatric counseling?
No. To me this phrase is just plain dumb and another example of our taking political correctness, if that’s what this is, waaayyyyy too far. What next? Will phrases like “life-deprived” or “living challenged” take over the word “death?” How about Nazis” being replaced by “race-conscious enthusiasts?” Honestly, I wonder where this will all end?
Our language gives us tools for thought, and if we are not honest with our words, and this kind of language is not anything I consider to be honest, I believe it will hamper our ability to think honestly. If we can’t think honestly, we can’t think well.
Sincerely,
Pat Holder
Wauneta, Neb.