Free Republic

One of the many words that sound so attractive, to people who do not think beyond the word, is "disarmament." Wouldn't it be better to live in a world where countries were not armed to the teeth, especially when they are armed with nuclear weapons? Of course it would. But the only country we can disarm is our own. The only countries we might be able to persuade to disarm are countries that intend no harm in the first place. Those countries that do intend to harm others— and we know all too well that they exist— would be delighted...

Among the many words that don't mean what they say, but which too many of us accept as if they did, are those staples of political discussion, "liberals" and "conservatives." Most liberals are not liberal and most conservatives are not conservative. We might be better off just calling them X and Y, instead of imagining that we are really describing their philosophies. Moreover, like most confusion, it has consequences. The late liberal Professor Tony Judt of New York University gave this definition of liberals: "A liberal is someone who opposes interference in the affairs of others: who is tolerant of...

Words are supposed to convey thoughts, but they can also obliterate thoughts and shut down thinking. As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said, a catchword can "delay further analysis for fifty years." Holmes also said, "think things, not words." When you are satisfied to accept words, without thinking beyond those words to the things— the tangible realities of the world— you are confirming what philosopher Thomas Hobbes said in the 17th century, that words are wise men's counters but they are the money of fools. Even in matters of life and death, too many people accept words instead of thinking, leaving...

Seventeenth century philosopher Thomas Hobbes said that words are wise men's counters, but they are the money of fools. That is as painfully true today as it was four centuries ago. Using words as vehicles to try to convey your meaning is very different from taking words so literally that the words use you and confuse you. Take the simple phrase "rent control." If you take these words literally-- as if they were money in the bank-- you get a complete distortion of reality. New York is the city with the oldest and strongest rent control laws in the nation....