To the editor:

I’ve been reading about lexicology and learning how meanings of words can change over time. A living room was once a lounge or parlor, but now those words are associated with alcohol and tattoos.

Last week’s news told me how outdated my vocabulary was. For example, there were once several suitable words for an elected official, who, without a second thought, voted to plunge our country into unnecessary wars that left thousands of crying orphans, widows and amputees in its wake. But in today’s lexicon, this official is called a “moderate.”

Both of those wars continue to bankrupt the nation, so the term “fiscal conservative” is sometimes used.

Another example of a modern definition adjustment is the term for a person who has sworn to defend the Constitution but instead, defends the giant corporation that spies on Americans and violates that Constitution.

That person, whose selfdefense is, “What could they do? The president told them to,” is now called a “sensible centrist.”

So, in my humble and outdated opinion, just listen to the politicians and accept their media-repeated talking points and you can avoid the steep learning curve that I had.

Carole Whelan,
Hope

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