Words of Marketing

I pity authors.  Trying to tame the wilds beasts that are words is like trying to dry sand with a hair dryer between waves.  “Whoosh” they say.  “Wouldn’t you be better off with a nice cozy job”  They say.

Words are never the same twice.  Words are dynamic, evolving, growing.  Take the word good. To Aristotle, good is a statue – an unmovable, untenable obelisk, distant, austere.  It can be seen, knelt before, offered to.  Our good is closer to “proper,” to “comfortable” to “nice-smelling”

Their meaning has shifted like the rising tide – slow, constant and deadly to the unobservant.  Words of course have no inherent meaning.  Only the pale shadows we tape to them.  What shall we do when the tape gets old and breaks and a million concepts swirl around the ocean like bait for sharks? 

Now, good is the wind blowing our hair lovingly, filling the sails of our warships, carrying away the flatulence of our neighbors.  Good is a measuring stick – you must be this happy to be alive, if not, please step into this line for prozak, raise your hand for paxil. 

Good and Evil have become words of marketing.  They are words of justification – why we do what we do.   Don’t look at the eclipse – that’s bad.  Don’t question the government, the government is good.  Depression is bad.  Discomfort is bad.  Sunshine is good! Cut flowers wrapped in green tissue paper with a card that says “Be my valentine”, are good!  A college degree is good!  There is so much good in the world! Hurray!

 

~ by zimmermusic on May 28, 2008.