Word Games and Those Who Listen
by: flyer123
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Word Count: 1596
The Word Game and Those Who Listen
As we close in on an election year of 2008 we find ourselves choosing a new president, along with the decision of many other legislative and magistrate offices, we must take a look at the methods of marketing we are now propagandized with. We have the ever popular Obamarama movement which seems to be making a concerted effort at fooling all of the people all of the time. He has taken on words that that portray an image that he is capable of turning all bad to good with the flip of a switch. People follow the words and less the man speaking them. This is nothing new. Many political movements throughout history, with some level of success, have done this before. But it is now being done with the tools of clever marketing phrases that have worked their ways into our culture by way of psychological word promotions drummed up by marketing and sales experts. They are experts because they know what they are doing and it is effective.
What has happened to our language that has brought about a whole new way of describing what was once simple to understand into the mind bending approach of descriptive phrasing meant to guide the listener into a hypnotized state of convincing vulnerability. How did a used car salesman become a dealer of certified pre-owned vehicles? A used car salesman has become synonymous with a con man or crook. A dealer of certified pre-owned vehicles sounds more respectful even though the product is the same.
Political correctness was the beginning of a word game gone out of control along with what now have become every day events much to the same. When I was growing up the most threatening individual at a public school was the local bully not some crazed suicidal maniac with a machine gun. The mailman was just a friendly guy not a disgruntled postal worker with a gun. Though there was wishful talk of it on the practice field no one ever got into bed with the great looking blonde teacher. How did this happen? Has our whole culture gone mad. As our language has been twisted to soothe us into a society of sheep the entertainment and media circus takes us into an inhumane annulment of self being.
When I was a kid I was scared of the Wolfman movies. Now we have brought up a whole generation on truly horrific films like Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween and video games where the object is to kill someone. What used to be relegated to sleazy supermarket tabloids have become mainstream front page and subjects of TV news. There are things on TV that used to be censored from films seen in theaters. There is a lot of talk about the effect this has on children but it’s not just there. Our entire society has felt it’s dehumanizing effects. This trend will continue. The demon is out of the box, you can’t put him back in. Are we living in Hell and so used to the heat that we are now roasting marshmallows?
While the word game tries to go soft, but actually deceptive and confusing, the world goes nuts. We now have teenagers becoming human bombs who wander into crowds with the promise of a Valhalla of eternal sex with virgins. In the 19th century Jack the Ripper was the worst series of murders the world had seen in a civic environment. Now days seemingly “normal quiet” individuals take on serial rape and murder as a hobby covered in the news as daily events. Freeways have become more dangerous than just being in an accident. For what at one time just produced a one finger hand gesture now brings out weapons by those with intent to kill anyone who offends them or causes them delay. People, children and adults, disappear into thin air never to be seen again and we rarely find out what happened to them.
While the words we now use dull our minds and try to give us a feeling that everything is OK the conversation around the water cooler is the crazed events from the prior evening news. The reactions are, “wow can you believe that, oh well”.
We were once known to be a “free country” but that sounded, well too much like free, like it was not under some level of control. Now we like to say we are a “democratic society”, like it was arrived at by committee involving all interests. We must now let everyone feel as though they have a part in the whole process. What about the word free in itself. What was once dubbed as free doughnuts is now a complimentary continental breakfast. A simple description turned into a lengthy confusion. What is ‘continental” anyway? I always thought it had something to do with a large land mass not breakfast. Or was it what Washington fed his army in the morning.
How did a robber who was once known to have gun now become an individual who brandished a firearm? Brandished? It makes it sound as though it was some kind of ceremony or magic trick appearing from under a handkerchief. Again, what was once simple sends us to the dictionary. And why is this word only used for guns? Why can’t someone brandish a fork or a yoyo?
What we used to take to the dump we now dispose of in a sanitary landfill. What is so “sanitary” about rotting garbage? But you still may hear dump used to describe what the more sophisticated may call sub-standard housing.
Cough drops are now throat lozenges. Maybe because cough drops were 25 cents and throat lozenges cost a dollar. The fancier the name, the higher the price.
Jesus healed the crippled but today he would treat the physically challenged. Dumb and just plain stupid is now mentally challenged. Some of these people are living seemingly normal lives as seen on Jaywalking on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show. What would it sound like if the movie Dumb & Dumber was called Mentally Challenged and Mentally Challenged to a Greater Degree. I guess just dumb.
I won’t go into politically correct racial descriptions. If we could just dispose of them all together and just called people, well people, we might start to eliminate this social tension.
What was forbidden is now zero tolerance. This makes it sound like a Nazi totalitarian term. You can’t tell someone “we’re not going to put up with this s***” and remain politically correct. Even the word zero has been more recently popularized. Rarely in my youth was it ever used except in a math class. We always said, and I still do, O. I get thrown off when someone is giving me a phone number and they say zero. All other numbers (or what some call numerals) are one syllable while zero is two. It breaks up the continuity of the numbers being voiced.
How is it that soft drink bottlers and water filter manufacturers were able to convince the whole country that the water from our taps is unfit to drink? This was pure marketing genius. Sell everyone water. Now only those in the poverty levels or the just totally unsophisticated drink tap water. Oh my God those poor people. Even though water systems can become contaminated it is rare. Public water systems are highly regulated and constantly monitored.
There some advantages to tap water. It is cheap and contains fluoride. Not so with bottled water. It costs as much or more than soft drinks. Why is this? One of the reasons is the bottlers have seen a decrease in soft drink sales over the years from bad press on it’s health disadvantages. So they start their own campaign to impugn tap water. Now profits are even greater because water is much cheaper to produce than soft drinks. Water being the main ingredient in soft drinks they have to add flavoring, sweeteners, color, carbonization, and preservatives which is additional cost and logistics. They have found a new way to bring up the profits for soft drinks by infusing them with caffeine and other ingredients, calling them “energy drinks”, and charging up to five times as much.
Water costs as much or even more at the store than soft drinks. Why is this? Because people will pay for it. Human beings need water to survive. No one is going to question it’s cost compared to soft drinks because no one will drink only soft drinks to get their water requirements. The market can hold the cost as high as what people will pay.
Sometimes the only difference between tap and bottled water is the bottle. Several water bottlers have been selling water right from the tap. People buy it because they have become so focused on the bottle that they rarely think of what is in it. At least this water will contain fluoride. Over the years since bottled water has come into fashion tooth decay has been on the rise. Get the dentists in on the profits of the water gravy train. And what happens to all the bottles? Though some municipalities require recycling most of them end up in all those sanitary landfills and take many years to biodegrade.
With all the bad press on the air we breathe it won’t be long before we all have tanks on our backs or go about in environmental suits.
A rose by any other name can bring a higher price with a clever marketing ploy.
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About the Author
Working guy from Texas. 56 years old. Writes as a hobby Brian Lynch 2807 Trinity Oaks Ct #105 Arlington, TX 76006 modprotex@gmail.com 817-323-5161 817-801-5711
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