Words have specific
meanings – and some are trying to change those
Not to be overly pedantic, but most words have very specific
meanings. A dog is a dog. A cat is a cat. An ice-cream sundae is an ice-cream sundae,
for example.
We all understand those words and agree on what they
mean. They aren’t nuanced at all.
However, there’s a disturbing move by some to change the
meanings of perfectly acceptable words to suit their agenda. Or eliminate words altogether. It’s almost Orwellian; it
smacks of newspeak.
Artificially changing the long-established meanings of
certain words – to be more inclusive, less “hurtful,” or to twist the meaning
to imply the opposite – is intellectually dishonest.
It’s an affront to the language. It’s also a crass attempt to avoid dealing the
implications of what that word truly stands for. It’s political correctness running roughshod
over reality.
Take the word “illegal,” as one example.
Someone who doesn’t follow the normal legal
processes for entering this country is here illegally. They
are an illegal alien, or at the least an illegal immigrant. They are not an “undocumented worker” – which
implies they merely lost their paperwork.
They are not simply an “immigrant” – because that includes those who come
here legally as well as illegally.
Yet there’s a campaign to stop the use of this perfectly
descriptive and accurate word. Supporters
believe it’s hurtful to those who apparently left their papers at home, forgot
that their visa expired, or were in too much of a rush to follow immigration
policies.
Yes, they are technically here against the law, but so what? What's the big deal? It's just a technicality, in their view.
Illegal is such a mean word, according to the campaign, and so
antithetical to what America stands for, we should all stop using it. Get rid of this “I” word altogether.
They prefer “undocumented.”
After all, they say: “No human
being is illegal.”
Got news for you. If you
are a non-citizen living here in
violation of our immigration laws – and it doesn’t make a damn bit of
difference how or why you came here, if you pay taxes, or how long you’ve lived
here – you’re here illegally. There’s no way to nuance that.
So get used to the real word “illegal.” That’s what it is. Sorry if it hurts somebody’s feelings. If they don’t like it, they can always go back
to where they came from and start over.
Only this time, do it the right way; the way legal
immigrants have for years.
Then we’ll welcome them with open arms.
Until then, they need to accept reality. If they get caught being here illegally, they’re
liable to be deported. Again, sorry, but
those are the rules in most cases.
Unless you’re the Kenyan aunt of the President, of course.
All the marches, clever videos, and boo-hoo stories in the New York Times and elsewhere won’t
change the fact that “illegal” means exactly what it means in the U.S.
At least for now.
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