Serotonin
4 Dec 2005, 06:38 AM
Here's an interesting excerpt from Death Sentence: The Decay of Public Language by Don Watson. The book (and this excerpt in particular) talks about the way corporatised, meaningless public language has deadened and pruned the way people think and act, and increased their sense of entitlement and selfishness. Examples of these words are italicised (his).
Some medical scientists tell us that the two most significant changes in medicine in the past century were, first, scientific development; and second, the growing belief that no mistake, inadequacy and failure should be accepted as normal part of life. Now many of our fellow citizens......believe that someone or some human process is to blame. Because without blame there cannot be closure, and there cannot be closure without litigation or litigation without closure. By radically reducing the element of chance in life, science is chiefly responsible for this development. But the language of modern marketing and management might be adding to the trend. With all the talk of outcomes and events and accountability and such, it could be that these days many citizens are prone to think that most events are managed, and those that aren't should be: managed transparently in fact, into agreed outcomes. And if there is no such outcome, someone must be made accountable. There must be closure. It is very likely that the word creates the need. The most dramatic example so far appears to be the news that in some parts of the United States parents have started legal proceedings against their gynaecologists when, on reaching high school age, their children's IQs do not meet expectations.
As a child I wrongly believed that the systemised world I lived in was run by benevolent men and women who were not real humans, that their sole purpose (teachers, storekeepers etc) was the role that I saw them in. They were guaranteed to deliver (using Don's diction formatting). There weren't supposed to be any problems, and if there were, there was a layer of more benevolent men and women who would fix the problems beneath.
All horribly J. Coming to grips with the fallibility of humans through my adolescence, becoming a nihilist for a while, and basically seeing how much other people suck was very painful. But it was the best thing I could have done.
Take home message ;) : The most dangerous thing for anybody to do is to put their faith in "the system".
Some medical scientists tell us that the two most significant changes in medicine in the past century were, first, scientific development; and second, the growing belief that no mistake, inadequacy and failure should be accepted as normal part of life. Now many of our fellow citizens......believe that someone or some human process is to blame. Because without blame there cannot be closure, and there cannot be closure without litigation or litigation without closure. By radically reducing the element of chance in life, science is chiefly responsible for this development. But the language of modern marketing and management might be adding to the trend. With all the talk of outcomes and events and accountability and such, it could be that these days many citizens are prone to think that most events are managed, and those that aren't should be: managed transparently in fact, into agreed outcomes. And if there is no such outcome, someone must be made accountable. There must be closure. It is very likely that the word creates the need. The most dramatic example so far appears to be the news that in some parts of the United States parents have started legal proceedings against their gynaecologists when, on reaching high school age, their children's IQs do not meet expectations.
As a child I wrongly believed that the systemised world I lived in was run by benevolent men and women who were not real humans, that their sole purpose (teachers, storekeepers etc) was the role that I saw them in. They were guaranteed to deliver (using Don's diction formatting). There weren't supposed to be any problems, and if there were, there was a layer of more benevolent men and women who would fix the problems beneath.
All horribly J. Coming to grips with the fallibility of humans through my adolescence, becoming a nihilist for a while, and basically seeing how much other people suck was very painful. But it was the best thing I could have done.
Take home message ;) : The most dangerous thing for anybody to do is to put their faith in "the system".