Euphemisms blind us to reality. Death becomes
merely "passing away." Killing unborn babies
becomes "terminating a pregnancy." Copulation
becomes "going to bed with." Genocide becomes
"population control." Sin becomes "antisocial
behavior." Change the language, and you change
people's perception of reality.
This could not be so if words were only convenient
artificial labels. Changing the label does not
change the contents of the jar. But language
is more than labels; language is a choice of a
way of thinking and therefore of living, of
existing. Our very mode of being is
determined by our language.
--Peter Kreeft (1937- )
_Making Choices: Practical Wisdom For Everyday
Moral Decisions_ [1990], Chapter 9
The true way to be deceived is to think oneself more
clever than others.
--Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680)
_Maxims_ [1678], Number 127
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