14 August 1956
Words – and sometimes groups of words – gather around themselves often a kind of emotional meaning. These emotional meanings attract certain types of attitudes, after a time, to the word or words. After a time, these attitudes become stereotyped so that as soon as a word or words are spoken – and emotional attitude or emotional habit – response arises. No matter thoughtful examination is given to the word or words – only a habitual response.
Perhaps without our knowing it, we fall in to closed grooves and no longer examine the word or words which create habit responses.
To clarify this idea more, I will try to be more specific as to words. I am thinking of such words as:
- status quo,
- value,
- truth,
- survival of the fittest,
- law of the jungle,
- self-made man.
