Words And Their Implied Meanings :: essays research papers

Words and Their Implied Meanings     Would you rather belong to the "Apple Dumpling syndicate" or the "Crypts"?The connotation of the word junto r each(prenominal)es "hit an all time low" in the 1990s.We envision todays gang members as drug lords who kill each other on streetcorners. Society rejects and imprisons them. Once members of a "gang" simplyshared common interests and enjoyed amicable acceptance, much as members of a smart settoday. Many pairs of words have experienced a similar disagreement inconnotation throughout the years.     The term "revolutionary" currently enjoys more social acceptance thanterrorist. The mind-set of a revolutionary thinks he/she must change ahorrific aspect of society by forcing a break-down in government. In the mindof a terrorist he/she must alter an aspect of society he deplores in society bybombings, hijackings, and assassinations. The United States history make s us sympathetic to revolutionaries because the war between America and the British.No books refer to it as the American Terrorism because terrorism connotesanarchy and a lack of social structure. The actual oddment in strategybetween the two groups may appear more gentle, however, they both kill.     Regarding the words "gang" and "club" only one denotes violence. Thedictionary defines gang as, "A group of persons working together a group ofpersons having informal and usual close social relations." The definition of aclub reads as follows, "An linkup of persons for some common object usuallyjointly harboured and meeting periodically." Hidden beneath each definition,lies a more subjective, personal definition lodged in each of our minds. Whymust society negatively characterize gangs and positively characterize clubs?We now associate the word "gang" with group of juvenile delinquents who pissdisturbances with violence an d misconduct. Commonly, society associates, theword "club" with a positive environment where young people can have positiverole models in their lives who support them. Unfortunately gangs correspondwith corruption and clubs equate with honor. Maybe we can solve the gangproblem by getting them to join clubs.     Yet another cabal of words similarly defined, yet with a verydifferent application in everyday life include "religion" and "cult." Everyreligion on Earth has at one time had the status of a cult, According toWebesters dictionary a cult has one major characteristic, "A system of apparitional belief and ritual." A religion too has a single distinct quality,"Commitment or devotion to a deity, faith or observance." Unfortunate, Intodays world, a cult will send you to eternal damnation while religion willsave you from it. With deeper analysis, one might contrive that religion