I kind of wondered whether E.L. James accidentally got rich whilst conducting an elaborate experiment in Pavlovian conditioning. I had assumed her writing was a deliberate technique to create a sense of revulsion to a previously common phrase.
As well as disappearing from vocabulary, it worries me that the concept of shades of grey seems to be disappearing from people’s reasoning skills too. The shrill arguments I see in the media and online replace logic and justified premises with hysteria and hyperbole. Occasionally there really are no shades of grey on an issue (like marriage equality), but more often the subtle complexities of controversial issues are being wilfully ignored or only selectively used by both sides of a debate. Usually I don't believe complex issues can be simplified to simple slogan so I don't buy into them publically. I find it quite refreshing reading opinion pieces that objectively consider the strength of their arguments and those of their opponents. I also still have strong opinions of my own on many issues. I have in the past found myself alternating between cursing and laughing at the appalling things people believe. Maybe that's how other people will react to some of my beliefs. I guess I will see. |