The Sun Bay Paper Page 10 May 6, 2022 - May 19, 2022 AModern Day Tower of Babel Our world is full of chaos, confusion, and division. And it’s getting worse. I’ve been searching for a way to address a topic I think about often, but on which I’ve seldom offered my thoughts. I’m referring to our deteriorating “common language.” I came upon an article that described social media in terms of the Tower of Babel. I liked it, but even that excellent equivalency sells short the modern relevance of the Tower of Babel event. According to Genesis 11, citizens of the world saw themselves as sophisticated and self-righteous. Steeped in their collective arrogance they decided to build a tower to heaven “to make a name for ourselves.” God rejected their ideas, confused their language, and spread them over the face of the earth. Does Babel have something to say about modern man’s arrogance in applying their knowledge and technology to control our world? Alternatively, is it communicating God’s willingness to intervene in human affairs – even divisively? Maybe it’s just an attempt to explain a great mystery of that time in history. Perhaps all of those have relevance today. The word “Babel” is derived from the root meaning “to confuse.” The biblical account tells of a time when people’s words and language became confused. Words have the ability, through effective communication, to help the world move in unison, in the right direction. We haven’t kept our common language dependably consistent, “whence cometh” a modern Babel – chaos, manipulation, and division. Our language deterioration seems closely related to another modern phenomenon commonly referred to as “moral relativism.” If you ask whether an activity is right or wrong, guided by moral relativism, the answer has become, “Well, that depends,” which begs the question, “Depends on what?” To which no ready answer is given. A manifestation of this showed up in the recent Supreme Court approval hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. She was asked to define the term “woman.” She deferred. Simple words are for communicating, sending accurate messages, or so we thought. More than ever in our history, definitions have become similar to the “moral relativism” concept I mentioned above. Attempts to find a definition too often end up with “that depends.” Who would have guessed simple and clear words like “woman” or “man” would develop ambiguous definitions? Similarly, consider the bitter arguments occurring regarding claims of systemic racism, or the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in schools. Important language surrounding that debate has been introduced in which some participants have redefined the meaning of words critical to effectively discussing the issues. Leaders of the CRT and “antiracism” movements, such as Professor Ibram X. Kendi, author of “How to be an Antiracist,” often seem to be talking a different language. For example, Kendi’s definitions for “racism,” “antiracism,” and “equity” can be confusing. Open Kendi’s book and you’ll find a mini glossary before most chapters. This is presented to introduce his personal definition for words and phrases, many of which are quite common, but with different traditional definitions. The revised language for his theories is better described as his “lexicon.” No wonder those involved in this debate talk past each other. They’re using different dictionaries. The result is obvious confusion, if not outright chaos. The bottom line is that our common language has lost part of its usefulness. Some of the loss was contrived by opportunists. The breakdown of our language has led to manipulation, often related to political and public policy issues. People deserve the truth, not vague, nuanced, or misleading information. We’re entitled to accurate facts for arriving at objective conclusions. Successful cultures demand effective communication. Language must be able to clearly convey context and perspectives. Words should convey important emotions and opinions. Watered down language and vague or ambiguous meaning for words too often elicit no more reaction than an old fashioned “cuss” word. We’re rapidly moving in that direction. We are indeed experiencing a modern day “Babel effect” – chaos and confusion. Let’s return to the days when the word “woman” didn’t convey an abstract concept. myslantonthings.com Steve Bakke, Fort Myers Why Are They Killing Innocent Civilians? The photos coming out of Ukraine, coupled with eyewitness accounts, leave no room for doubt. Terrible things are being done. The bodies are not just those of soldiers. Civilian casualties are skyrocketing. This is not inevitable. This is murder. Why? Who is giving the orders? Of course Russian President Vladimir Putin and his generals are to blame for the acts of the Russian army. But did they order this? Have they tried to stop it? And if they do try, will it stop? Reports of random shootings of civilians for no reason at all raise terrible questions about the human condition. Is this how human beings treat each other when they know they will get away with it? The banality of evil, brought to you by social media. Ukraine is far away. We should be grateful every day that our children can play outside instead of hiding in basements, that the electricity works, that our husbands and sons, brothers and fathers, have not left home to take up arms to defend our country. I cannot imagine the lives of the mothers, trying to protect their children from things that no child should face. Babi Yar, the famous mass grave site, lies in Ukraine. Ukrainians are no strangers to senseless violence. But that was then -- so long ago, we like to think; never again, we say to ourselves. Yes, again, we must admit. "More killing in Ukraine," "Mass graves found," the headlines say, before reporting on weather and sports and the like. Not so different from the newspapers of the 1930s, reporting on Hitler's persecution of the Jews. We didn't know, we tell ourselves now, although that is not entirely true, not at all. We knew enough and did too little and the very existence of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is a pledge that next time will be different. Is it? The president is asking for much more military aid to Ukraine, and this is one of the very few things both parties seem to agree on. We should send weapons. And we will. And there will be more killing, because this is war. We must do more than send weapons, though. Somehow, whether through international law, diplomacy, sanctions and shame, we must make clear that Russia has stepped over the line not only by invading a free people but also by committing mass murder of civilians. And for the latter, if not also the former, they deserve the fullest condemnation the world can offer. We try to stay out of territorial disputes. Fair enough. But can we stay out of genocide? And are more weapons the only answer? What about more speech, Elon Musk? This is social media's first big war. So far, it has failed to make a big difference. Russians remain in the dark about what their country is doing, the victims of state control. National walls are still blocking free press. Whether the Russian people know what their army is doing is one of the big unanswered questions; what they can do about it in a repressive society is another. The revolutions brought about by social media elsewhere seem very far away. How can those walls be broken down? My grandfather left Kyiv to escape antisemitism a century ago. When he couldn't get into this country, he went to Argentina and later managed to come to Massachusetts. So there but for the grace of God go I. My family managed to escape the Russians and the Germans. My good fortune weighs on me. Shouldn't we be doing more? But what? You tell me. Susan Estrich Tower of Babel.
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