Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Empty Repititious Rhetoric

Words form the basis of how we communicate. There was a time (not that long ago) when speaking properly with well chosen words was as important as legible hand writing. Our founding fathers were very careful in the choice of words they used not only for the constitution but also for their own writings.

Now in our post-modern age of non-responsible behavior it has become acceptable to not only use profanity but also a constant dribble of catch phrases that are neither truthful or accurate. It is impossible to listen to the news without hearing a politician or media personality say "the fact of the matter is," "the American people want" "or the American people have spoken." Of course any request for them to back up their claim with facts is quickly dodged.

Recently President Obama made a statement while introducing his stem cell reversal decision that illustrates this tactic. He said: "But after much discussion, debate and reflection, the proper course has become clear. The majority of Americans, from across the political spectrum and from all backgrounds and beliefs, have come to a consensus that we should pursue this research – that the potential it offers is great, and with proper guidelines and strict oversight, the perils can be avoided." His statement was not only inaccurate, it was a lie! What majority is he talking about and where did he pull these statistics from? When a person's philosophy is "the end the justifies the means" they will say anything to realize their goal.

There is abundant medical evidence that shows adult stem cells are much more effective than those of an embryo. The question that should be asked is why would so many on the left push
this agenda and be willing to misrepresent both the American people and scientific evidence? The answer is simple. There is tremendous profit to be made for those who will be involved in harvesting stem cells from embryos.

There was a time in the history of our country (and not that long ago) when a man's word was his bond. Sadly those days are past as words have lost their importance, integrity and meaning.

Words are powerful. When Alexander Graham Bell said "Mr. Watson, come here, I want you" the telephone was invented and history was made. Neil Armstrong's words became forever embedded in our culture when he stepped on to the moon and said, "one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind." On November 19th, 1863 Abraham Lincoln said "four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." Almost two years later a Senator made this comment about those words, "the world noted at once what he said, and will never cease to remember it.The battle itself was less important than the speech."

Perhaps the greatest display of the power of words is found in John 3:16 where we read, "for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." With those words came the greatest promise to man that has ever been made!

Words are important because they have the unique abiblity to either build up or tear down an individual or a nation. Perhaps that's why the Bible places such importance on words. In Matthew 12:36 Jesus said, "But I said unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account therof in the day of judgment." When you review your vocabulary what kind of words do you use to express your thoughts and feelings?

There is great power and potential in words as illustrated by the following: "There are 800,000 in the English language, 300,000 are technical terms. The average person knows 10,000 words and uses 5,000 in everyday speech. A journalist knows approximately 15,000 and uses around 10,000." If these statistics are correct than those of us who are not journalists need to learn more words!!

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