Rectification of Names

"A is A," as Mark Scott used to say. Much of the immorality being advocated today is promoted by one of two lies:

"A is not-A": "A human zygote/ embryo/ fetus is not a human being. Using taxes to reallocate wealth is not theft. An incestuous marriage is not immoral. Self-defense is not a legitimate use of a gun. Licensing is not rent seeking. The Catholic Church is oppressive. Women are the same as men."

"not-A is A": "Homosexual marriage is marriage. The pregnant man is a man. Government health care is free. Minimum wages protect the poor. Abortion is a right."

Both lists could go on, and on, and on, and on. This is one of the topics that the Western Confucian regularly posts about -- The Rectification of Names. Some have suggested that Rectification of Names proposes that if you get language right, all else will follow, but that's not right, any more than saying the Confucian Rule ("Don't do unto others what you would not have them do unto you") is the same as the Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"). Rather, the Rectification of Names proposes that if language is wrong, then nothing else can be right.

The Fort Hood Massacre

The thing that struck me right off the bat about the incident, is just how long it took for anyone to show up that could shoot back at Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. This is an Army base -- a fortress, for crying out loud! Where were all the people with guns?

Natural vs. Unnatural

In our culture, meat that is saturated with synthetic and artificial hormones is seen as inferior to meat that is not. The presumption is that synthetic and artificial hormones distort the natural development of the animal from which the meat is taken (EDIT: or else, that they will distort the nature of the one eating it), with the corollary that natural is superior to unnatural.

And yet, in our culture, women are constantly harangued to saturate their bodies with synthetic and artificial hormones. They do so with the specific intention of distorting the natural functioning of their bodies, to render themselves temporarily infertile. Men regard unnatural, infertile women as superior to natural women. And women take significant risks to this end.

Nor is it merely hormones. Women are subtly urged to starve or mutilate themselves to give their bodies unnatural shapes -- because that's the way that men want them.

How do we fail to notice this sort of cognitive dissonance?

The Religion of Peace

The Religion of Peace is a new site I've recently added to my random links list. Their foremost dictum: Do not judge Islam by the Muslims you know. Do not judge the Muslims you know by Islam.

A lucid article about Islam.