One, if a person uses dichotomies constantly in a description of historical trends, you, the Catholic can learn a lot. Examples: country vs. city interests; labor vs. managerial; industrial vs. academic' elite vs. non-elite; educated vs. illiterate; military-bourgeoisie vs. populace; social vs. religious; urban vs. rural'; democracy vs. totalitarian; facism vs. communist; the masses vs. the elite; rich vs. poor; have vs. have nots; upper class vs. lower class; even, science vs. faith. And so on.
Two, if a person with whom you are discussing either politics or religion keeps referring to the Kingdom of God as if it is a political or civil reality, beware. Read St. Augustine's The City of God for an early clarification of how God's Kingdom is not a political or societal utopia.
Three, if you are hearing words which define everything in economic terms, such as a list of grievances which are always bases on money, beware. Key words are equilibrium of the classes' equality of the classes; consolidation; global bank; global currency. horizontal class structure; homogeneity; hegemony; stratum or stratas; primitive capitalism; syndicalism; And so on.
Four, if you are hearing in conversation an over-abundance of statements on personal rights, you know you are listening to an ideologue. Examples include, civil rights for all groups, even NAMBA; the lack of the imagination of (take your pick), the Americans, the Catholic Church, the Evangelicals, etc.; women's reproductive rights; freedom for all peoples ( a vague and dangerous term, meaning nothing but license); indoctrination and didactic attitude of the Catholic Church; hierarchy or anti-hierarchy (these terms are now buzz words); And so on
Five, with regard to education, beware of these terms in conversation, as these reveal an athestic and Marxist bent: formation, inculturation, diversity; idealism; psychological profiling; realism; pragmatic solutions; And so on.
These lists are not all-inclusive. I can also list the Narcissistic vocabulary, but that is another post.
Just remember that as Catholics, especially as adults, we have a duty to understand our own roots in Christ and His Church, and read the major works of the Popes for the last one-hundred and fifty years. Some of those documents are listed on the side.
It is interesting to note that the communists and socialists in Europe will use other utopian groupings, such as the Freemasons, while hating their own pseudo-religious structures. The anarchists and syndicalists will do the same. Americans cannot be naive, nor can the British, about these larger movements. Language creates paranoia and false class struggle. Note our present administration which used the language of division and on purpose, I usually do not refer to PBS, which is an arch-liberal organization, but this is an interesting site for beginners in the history of repressive governments. another phrase used by those who hate the Church. How language can be twisted may be seen in both the history of propaganda, and one merely needs to look at the language which built up to the Holocaust for such a perversion of language in Germany. This can happen anywhere and is now happening in the States, Great Britain, Ireland and other places, in the media.
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| Language Police under Stalin |