Meaning of Words

Just some thoughts:

 

The meaning of certain words are acquiring strange connotations in common parlance. For example, “fundamentalism” is unflinchingly regarded as bad and is associated with “dogmatism” like that of the Muslims. Similarly, “extremism” is also de facto evil, associated with “religious extremism.”

 

Then there’s “radical” and “radicalism”; again these words are viewed unfavorably, as in the case of the “radical Islamic clerics” or the “radicalism of ethnocentric groups.”

 

We are at a point where anything regarded as “extreme,” “radical,” “ideal,” “fundamental,” or “principled” is viewed negatively or with suspicion.

 

And in contrast, there are words like “open-mindedness” coming to refer to someone unsure and uncertain of everything and open to any and every kind of persuasion. To me, this modern connotation of “open-mindedness” is more aptly described as intellectual prostitution.