Semantic Slippage

A liar. I've been a liar ... many times ... to myself and others. Why? Because I've wasted worthy words.

Oh, the shame, the stigma of sustaining semantic slippage. I've aided and abetted antonymous abuse My purgatory and salvation is preventing blind, bombastic abuse.  My crusade? Redeem desecrated words.

For instance, consider capitalism

How many people think, or have thought, that capitalism is bad?

Is capitalism bad?  Or, is it, merely, that bad people call themselves capitalists?

For many years, I bad-mouthed capitalism. One day, its literal meaning sunk in: from the head . It rewards one for using his head

Why have arguments been shouted , governments overthrown and wars fought against capitalist pigs? Because wolves ... parade ... in sheep's clothing. Capitalism is not Bad?

I posit  for your edification that capitalism is a good system ... of motivation and values. I posit for your gratification that we need a new word for the bad activities that slander capitalism.

What is a true capitalist ... given my meaning of capitalism being a system of motivation  and values.

A. A true capitalist ... has an enlightened mind..

B. A true capitalist ... works to better his world by increasing the quality of life for himself, his family and his community.

C. A true capitalist ... does not steal with guns, briefcases, keyboards or legislation.

Over the years capitalism has become synonymous with pieces of paper stocks, bonds, currency , and titles

Do you know why no one has bought the brooklyn bridge? Because I, Bob Barnett, own it. See me after the meeting if you want to buy it.

Capitalism is not paper symbols of wealth.  Like owning a gun , it is what you do with any power that determines whether you are good or bad.  A capitalist capitalizes production and capitates employment. A decapitalist does the opposite.  A close analysis of Wall Street stock transactions shows that only 3% capitalize production.  The rest are decapitalistic.

Profits is closely related to capitalism. Are profits bad? Or, are bad financial transactions inaccurately called profitable? Profits' Latin meaning is "forward being," ) that is, a better existence. Can a transaction between two humans be called profitable if one end up with a lower quality of life? No. A thief does not ever have a profit. A thief is a decapitalist. In reality, little true profit-taking occurs on Wall Street.

Some thieves use guns . Others use briefcases . The modern thief uses a keyboard . The worst thieves steal through the law-making process in Congress, on, can you believe it, Capital Hill.  Do you know the difference between an incumbent Republican and Democrat? One is a robbing thief; the other is a thieving robber. The worst, white-collar criminal is an incumbent politician.

Congress is decapitalistic, responsible for economic bloodshed. Out habitual politicians have turned Capital Hill into capital hell.  I will close by telling a story about Mark Twain.

He said when he was 14 years old that his father was the dumbest person he had ever met.  At the age of 21, Twain said that he was amazed at how smart his father was ... even though his father had not changed.

Good words sometimes suffer the same fate as good parents. They are abused until the abuser grows up or dies off.

As figures don't lie but liars use figures, so do words not mislead but misleaders misuse good words.

Capitalism is a good word. It will still be there when we wake up to how good it have been to us.  Like a good parent, capitalism will be ready to help us ... despite having lied about it over the years due to semantic slippage.

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