Changing words

Ben D. Mahaffey

I can’t claim the credentials of an etymologist, but words have always fascinated me. The phonetics, pronunciation, and meanings of words vary so in the English language. The word diarrhea flows nicely, as long as one does not get too involved with its meaning!

In Theodore Roosevelt’s time the word square meant honesty. A man received a square deal and received three square meals a day. By the time I was a teenager, the word square meant a person was unusual, not in a complimentary sense; sort of like a word that evolved later: nerd.

My kids confiscated a good word that meant temperature and changed it to mean great, neat, good, and colorful. The word? Cool. Everything was . . . cool. I heard that expression all the years they were growing up.

When I was a youngster, the word gay meant lively, happy, and colorful. Now it has been hijacked to mean specifically homosexual and is used in no other way. I have a female friend named Gay and she is often chided about the name in the gay context. Who gave the homosexuals the right to change a perfectly good word? The answer is obvious. The term gay is bright, light, and uncondemning. I have known many gays in my lifetime and not many appeared to be gay to me.

My brother was gay and was in the forefront of using that term when it was first adapted. Even when dying, he was defiant and proudly described himself as gay.

Our nation is now in the throes of having another important word stolen, changed, and demeaned. That word is marriage. Marriage is one of the oldest words in existence. Adam and Eve were apparently married in the Garden of Eden. The term has always described the union between a man and a woman.

Most state court decrees against same-sex marriage are being overturned. Soon same-sex or gay marriage will be the law of the land. The common and sacred meaning of the word will never be the same. Same-sex marriage has been sold as a civil rights issue. It is simply a moral issue and calling gay associations a “marriage” stretches the imagination.

Most Americans are fair-minded and do not want to deny any citizen common rights such as fair wages, open housing, reasonable respect, etc. But why call the unions marriages? Another term should be selected. The primary reason for using the term marriage is to try to give some semblance of acceptability for behavior, which has been traditionally condemned by most religions since the beginning of time.

There are other issues that will come from the hijacking of this word. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution, otherwise known as the Equal Rights Amendment, will be used to demand that polygamy, polyandry and any other associations the privilege of being called marriage. Unfortunately, if my predictions bear out, it will be a major cause for the further breakdown of American families and society in general.

Ben D. Mahaffey resides in St. George.