Today the confusion of the meaning of words in these United States is a danger to the whole world. Few American schools any longer require a pupil to dissect his words to their roots, and to know what he means when he speaks. And for twenty years the disciplined members of the Communist Party in these States have been deliberately following Lenin's instruction, "First confuse the vocabulary."
Thinking can be done only in words. Accurate thinking requires words of precise meaning. Communication between human beings is impossible without words whose precise meaning is generally understood.
Confuse the vocabulary, and people do not know what is happening; they cannot sound an alarm; they can not achieve any common purpose. Confuse the vocabulary, and millions are helpless against a small, disciplined number who know what they mean when they speak. Lenin had brains.
From The Discovery of Freedom by Rose Wilder Lane, published 1943. Page 177.
This book is astounding me. More on this topic when I finish it.
1 comment:
Very good point! Interesting that Lenin advocated *purposely* confusing people. I'd like to read more about that.
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