Words may be an inadequate form of communication; so much that is relevant occurs outside the realm of verbal expressability. "Describe the taste of salt" is the anecdotal example, and there are probably millions of things like it, all of them experiences that contribute to making us who and what we are, that is, humans.
In spite of this deficiency, words are exceedingly important. President Monson recently quoted a study in which young people were asked to name a moral dilemma they had recently faced:
"The interviewers asked open-ended questions about right and wrong, moral dilemmas and the meaning of life. In the rambling answers, … you see the young people groping to say anything sensible on these matters. But they just don’t have the categories or vocabulary to do so.
"When asked to describe a moral dilemma they had faced, two-thirds of the young people either couldn’t answer the question or described problems that are not moral at all, like whether they could afford to rent a certain apartment or whether they had enough quarters to feed the meter at a parking spot" (quoted by Thomas S. Monson, "Dare to Stand Alone," Liahona, Nov. 2011; my emphasis).
Indeed, the lack of vocabulary can paralyze us, or even put us to sleep. To believe, plan, anticipate, command, assert, all require the correct words, even if they only sound inside one's head.
"When a man works by faith he works by mental exertion instead of physical force. It is by words, instead of exerting his physical powers, with which every being works when he works by faith...Faith, then, works by words; and with these its mightiest works have been, and will be, performed. . . . In spite of this deficiency, words are exceedingly important. President Monson recently quoted a study in which young people were asked to name a moral dilemma they had recently faced:
"The interviewers asked open-ended questions about right and wrong, moral dilemmas and the meaning of life. In the rambling answers, … you see the young people groping to say anything sensible on these matters. But they just don’t have the categories or vocabulary to do so.
"When asked to describe a moral dilemma they had faced, two-thirds of the young people either couldn’t answer the question or described problems that are not moral at all, like whether they could afford to rent a certain apartment or whether they had enough quarters to feed the meter at a parking spot" (quoted by Thomas S. Monson, "Dare to Stand Alone," Liahona, Nov. 2011; my emphasis).
Indeed, the lack of vocabulary can paralyze us, or even put us to sleep. To believe, plan, anticipate, command, assert, all require the correct words, even if they only sound inside one's head.
". . . The whole visible creation, as it now exists, is the effect of faith. It was faith by which it was framed, and it is by the power of faith that it continues in its organized form, and by which the planets move round their orbits and sparkle forth their glory" (Lectures on Faith, 72–73; see also Matthew 17:20 ; Jacob 4:6, 9; taken from http://institute.lds.org/manuals/pearl-of-great-price-student-manual/pgp-2-m2-01.asp ).
Animals lack the intelligence to form intensely abstract language on their own, but interestingly, most of the more intelligent ones can be trained to respond to verbal commands from people.
My point is that the power of words for good has a flip side—that inaccurate or distorted words can impede all manner of good, and facilitate all manner of immorality. On an internal level, they can ameliorate a guilty conscience. The scriptures use the phrase "deceiving you own selves" (James 1:22). A rich person can look out his windows and see beggars starving on the streets below. The abnormally early frost is the reason why they have less food than last winter; "It's an act of God," he tells himself, and so transfers the responsibility to care for the his less fortunate brethren elsewhere. He has eliminated the anxiety of conscience through the use of words.
I wish to discuss the way this applies to abortion, by examining its popular terminology.
I take umbrage with the phrase "reproductive rights," especially as currently applied to abortion. What does it mean to "reproduce?" It implies the creation of a new member of the same species, not to the formation of an unwanted mass of tissue. If surgical removal of unwanted tissue is in question, then we are not speaking of reproduction. If reproduction is the activity in question, then abortion is taking a human life. The phrase "reproductive rights" implies as much, at least, and I wish to point that out for the benefit of anyone who has not yet thought of this. To say one has "non-reproductive rights," or maybe "anti-reproductive rights" might be more accurate. But they still imply murder by including "reproductive" in the phrase.
Perhaps "unwanted tissue removal rights" would be consistent with a legal system and society that considers the taking of human life to be illegal and immoral. If you truly believe a fetus is not human, then it makes no sense to associate the word "reproductive" with it. But what if the word "reproductive" is a reference to the particular organs in question, the womb, etc.? My reproductive organs have an unwanted mass of tissue...
This thought still suffers from the association of new human life and the word "reproductive." Were the organs in question malfunctioning? It would be hard to argue that abortion is a corrective surgery to fix a malfunction. All life is currently engaged in a mad dash to reproduce. The fruits and vegetables we eat, the grains, the livestock, the wild animals, the bacteria, the fish, whales, all of them are the results of the attempt to reproduce. Everything but a few nervous, selfish humans are anxiously attempting to create the next generation. Massive drifts of cottonseed and pollen, blooms of glowing red algae, plumes of eggs from spawning fish, and seeds scattered everywhere represent these attempts. Most are unsuccessful; many actually take root. When the same thing happens in humans, life itself has succeeded in its defining mission: to beget new life. Casting success as failure is the province of rhetoric, salesmanship, advertising, public relations, propaganda, hype, and sophistry. It is the function of word play, skillful manipulation that complicates the obvious, trivializes the momentous, and confuses, warps, and mutilates the plain and simple truth.
"Euphemism" is a synonym for a word we find distasteful. "Reproductive rights," and "pro-choice" ring with boldness, liberation, and freedom, and other vaguely positive feelings. To see photographs of what they are actually referring to fills the heart and gut with anything BUT positive feelings. This is the power of warped words. My own personal belief is that abortion is a sin unless the mother's life is endangered by the pregnancy, or in cases of rape or incest. In most cases the correct time to prevent an unwanted pregnancy is when a couple is deciding whether to have intercourse. Unlike most of the lifeforms on this earth, we are aware of the consequences that can come from the reproductive act, and we have the mental equipment to say yes or no, depending on our desired outcome. Not only "reproductive rights," but "reproductive responsibility," find accurate expression in this context.
We are burning humanity a both ends, so to speak, aborting the unborn and euthanizing the aged and infirm. If the average person is shifting from being appalled at these practices to their acceptance, what are the wickedest, most vicious people becoming? Where will this trend lead? I think it will lead to a view of humans as disposable plastic cups instead of valuable glass dishes. Let's curtail this trend. Let's call things by accurate names and correct words, rather than obscure our guilt and silence our consciences with distorted words.
