"When I use a word, I means just what I choose it to mean." -- Humpty Dumpty.
"How can you make a word mean so many different things?" -- Alice.
"The question is, who is to be master." -- Humpty Dumpty.
What do words mean?
As Humpty Dumpty insisted, his words mean what he says they mean, so you can't know what they mean until he explains what they mean.
Say what?
Why not say up front what you mean? That will save you the trouble of explaining what you could have said the first time.
Unless you don't know what you're going to say until you say it. Politicians do that often, which leaves them the opportunity of "explaining" what they "really meant" to those they claim are "ignorant reporters" and blame them for any negative reaction from voters.
Lawyers argue over the meanings of words, and they try to bend a meaning until it supports their client's behavior.
For lawyers, the goal is to win. Doing what's right is a separate issue, and not relevant to their goal.
Politicians have a similar goal. Their task is to win. To defeat the opposition and thereby gain for themselves.
Sometimes, it matters not that both sides have the same goal. Their task is to defeat the other side so they can claim credit for any accomplishment, even if the results would be the same no matter who arranged them.
"How can you make a word mean so many different things?" -- Alice.
"The question is, who is to be master." -- Humpty Dumpty.
What do words mean?
As Humpty Dumpty insisted, his words mean what he says they mean, so you can't know what they mean until he explains what they mean.
Say what?
Why not say up front what you mean? That will save you the trouble of explaining what you could have said the first time.
Unless you don't know what you're going to say until you say it. Politicians do that often, which leaves them the opportunity of "explaining" what they "really meant" to those they claim are "ignorant reporters" and blame them for any negative reaction from voters.
Lawyers argue over the meanings of words, and they try to bend a meaning until it supports their client's behavior.
For lawyers, the goal is to win. Doing what's right is a separate issue, and not relevant to their goal.
Politicians have a similar goal. Their task is to win. To defeat the opposition and thereby gain for themselves.
Sometimes, it matters not that both sides have the same goal. Their task is to defeat the other side so they can claim credit for any accomplishment, even if the results would be the same no matter who arranged them.
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