Language, Politics, and How the Tea Party and Republicans Are Filling Us with Fear

“Language is the house of being. In its home man dwells. It is language that tells us about the nature of a thing, provided that we respect language’s own nature. Man acts as though he were the shaper and master of language, while in fact language remains the master of man. Among all the appeals that we human beings, on our part, can help to be voiced, language is the highest and everywhere the first." — Martin Heidegger.

I want to stop the misuse and abuse of language. Especially the “words that work” of the Tea Party and Republicans who are trying only to throw out our president. They still are just a “party of no” and lest you hate me and send me nasty notes.

I am a life-long Republican. Now, recovering, and a proud Obama republican.

But, let me digress and offer a brief explanation, if I might. My love is and has been literature, philosophy, the classics and structural analysis and criticism (my comparative literature background and teaching). With only a few regrets, I spent 30 some years in “business” and consulting. While in my business career, I both had a modicum of success in marketing, sales, and consulting and was afforded quite a bit of time delivering training or other seminars. In doing so, I confess that I was not always careful with language. I want to write about language and its use, and maybe whatever else strikes my fancy.

But again: Why language? Have you turned on the news? Have you heard the lies, the distortion of facts, coming out of Fox News? Who can you trust? Isn’t it time to silence the furor and listen with authenticity?

If you love author Thomas Pynchon, you need to remind everyone they need to go in for the Tubal-detox program: cure themselves of “Tubeitis” that illness that permeates American life. It isn’t just on TV and Cable; it’s everywhere they can buy the placement of their fear-mongering, society-splintering, destructive messages. You have Rush L., Glenn Beck, and of course, WTMJ’s very own Charlie Sykes, who believe that if they use “words that work” often enough you will gladly, lemming-like allow yourselves to become victims of a plutocratic oligarchy. But hey! Who cares? Right? If the talking heads create enough noise pollution backed by the Koch brothers and other fear-mongerers such as the current lot of Tea Party-ites and Republicans pool of candidates, it will be perfectly alright with you?

And, let me add that yesterday I noticed someone say that Democrats are the same as Nazi’s to be defeated by the Tea Party. OMG! (As my 15, 13, and 10 year might say, but probably not).

I felt compelled to add some “local color” if I might and stir the pot, but without language that is so blatantly outrageous and maybe even add a few words, as an Obama Republican, for our current Commander in Chief.