Discussion»Questions»Communication» We fight to the death to preserve/protect freedom. We fight to the death protect others We fight to the death to protect words. WHAT? Why?
Some words are very important Rosie. They make up the ingredients for how we live which, I hasten to add, is not always a good thing.
If I can put my historian hat on, there was once a time when words were considered sacred, or very nearly. The importance given them is usually, but not always, a pretty fair representation of the importance given to the principles they represent in our societies. Perhaps what your question seems to refer to is a bit of a hangover from then.
If we're lucky, we will know people who only have to give their word for you to be able to bank it. Whatever word they give has an increased importance, value, (struggling for another noun here) because of a principle they hold of being reliable once assurances have been given.
Some words are certainly worth fighting over, but only if the principles they represent are also worth that price. Inevitably, opinion will differ as to whether these battles are chosen wisely because (annoyingly) words often mean different things to different people. :)
