Another thought

I’ve been noodling something re: buzz words. I don’t mean to pick on Any Mouse or Side Note . But, hey, they’re anonymous, Side Note more than Any Mouse. Both have used buzz words in the last coupla days: “government schools” for Any Mouse and “fundamentalist” for Side Note. Mike Kennedy, I believe, called Any Mouse on the tactic. Buzz words are one part derogatory and two parts condescending. Political partisans love them.

By using “government” as an adjective for schools, for example, Any Mouse transforms what many consider to be a valuable institution into something akin to USSR education.

Side Note will argue correctly that fundamentalism is a conservative religious movement with roots dating back 80 or 90 years. At one time, I believe, it described folks who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible and embraced 5 or 6 principles along that line. Today, fundamentalism has lost its meaning, other than to be a pejorative describing uneducated rubes who believe in creation over evolution, like I do. But it’s still brandished by those who would have you believe that a radical Muslim is little different than a fundamentalist Christian.

Bottom line? I stop reading when someone uses a term like fundamentalist to write off a large section of Christianity. And I almost stop reading (although I’m more sympathetic) when someone uses “government” to describe a public school. Pro-choicers call the other side anti-life. Pro-lifers call the other side pro-aborts. It takes away from the argument, I believe. And isn’t the point of debating … to be heard?

DFO