The Language Divide

Defining abstract concepts is tricky. What is love? Or hate? Liberty? Equality? Everyone knows what these words mean, yet they mean different things to different people. Inevitably this leads to conflict. When you think about it, it's a miracle that our language works at all.

As America becomes more polarized so does our language. When, at either end of the spectrum, we have groups of people who no longer even attempt to communicate with each other, we should not be surprised that they have begun speaking different languages. There are old concepts and words that no longer mean the same thing to everyone. New concepts arise and old words get co-opted to describe them. Miscommunication results.

For instance, what is racism? If a person believes that one race is superior to another, no one would dispute that person is racist. But suppose a person believes all races are equal, yet through ignorance supports policies that have racist results. Is that person a racist? Do we define racism by attitude or by results? And what happens when one group of people define racism one way and another group defines it by another?

The real problem here is that these are actually two different concepts. They are both huge problems, but ones with very different solutions. English fails us when we use the same word to describe both of them. When people who normally do not communicate with each other finally give it a chance, this lack of distinction can doom the attempt.

It's the curse of knowledge. We assume people know what we know. That what one word means to us is what that word means to others. And in turn, we are ignorant of what other people may mean by it.

In order to communicate effectively, we have to be willing to take the time to figure out what other people are really saying. But this cannot be a one-sided attempt. It requires both sides to make an honest effort. And unfortunately, I just don't see that happening right now.