Words often do not mean what we think they mean. People learn language through context. They hear someone use a word, infer its meaning, and use it themselves. If someone misuses a word often enough, the meaning of the word changes, often with big consequences for our understanding of what is going on around us.

Examples:

1. I once called myself a liberal, but the meaning of the word has changed to mean its opposite. Now, if I call myself anything, I call myself a classic liberal. Like Jack, I looked up the word, asked myself if that is what I think and believe. I said “yes” so that is what I call myself. (Please note: It doesn’t help at all.)

2. When you listen to the news carefully you will soon realize that the words “kill” and “murder” are used interchangeably, as if they have the same meaning. They do not. “Kill” is a general word, meaning to cause either an accidental, or unintentional death or a legal death in war or in policing or self-defense. Murder suggests killing with purposeful illegal intent, careless intent or negligence. Killing and murder are not the same thing although murder always involves killing. In the Bible, “Thou shalt not kill” reflects the archaic meaning of the word “kill”. It should read today as “Thou shalt not murder”. The Bible hasn’t changed. The English language has.

3. Finally, I am an Orthodox Jew. Do I think of myself as an Orthodox Jew? No. I think of myself as Jewish because that is what I am, but that confuses people. They want a label. I look at what Orthodox Jews do and realize that this is what I do, and this is what I think (mostly). So, for the sake of clarity and peace, I call myself an Orthodox Jew. It’s the closest label I can find that fits. (And I have a certificate that says I am a real Jew from a real Orthodox rabbi in Jerusalem, and a real local Orthodox rabbi here in Austin.)

FYI, Dennis Prager is one of my heroes. He is a little to the left of me, but I listen carefully to what he has to say. It is always worth my time.

Alex Shrugged