Return to Babel

"It doesn't really matter what language you speak," I read recently. "What matters is that you're understood." This is so true. I often complain about the abuse, disuse, and decline of words. Their meanings shift, change, even disappear, and we end up using a word we think we all know in senses that are completely foreign to one or the other (or, in some cases, both).

The other day I was musing about one of the state of affairs in this country. There is a lot of noise about helping the poor, about assisting those without health insurance, about aiding those in trouble with their mortgages -- all well and good -- about equality, you know. Odd thing, though. No one is offering me any help. Why is that? "Well," I told myself, "that's because you're not one of the underprivileged." The term hit me. "Underprivileged." What does that mean?

According to Merriam-Webster, the term means "deprived through social or economic condition of some of the fundamental rights of all members of a civilized society". And Webster isn't alone. Dictionary.com agreed both from Random House Dictionary and Collins English Dictionary. It is missing rights. Now, wait a minute! When did this happen? When did a "privilege" become a "right"?

Indeed it did! Dictionary.com defines "privilege" as "a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most." The World English Dictionary uses the older definition, suggesting it means, "a benefit, immunity, etc, granted under certain conditions", but thanks to the evolution of English, we've pretty much blurred the distinction and "privilege" is no longer distinct from "right" or "entitlement". Indeed, "privilege" is no longer simply a nice thing to have. It is "rights and advantages enjoyed by the elite." You know, like that "1%" so hated these days by the 99%.

So, we have "underprivileged" which means "deprived of your rights" even though "privilege" was usually distinct from "rights". And this would suggest a standard of "privileges" below which you would be "underprivileged". There would be the next level -- those in the middle -- who would be the "privileged", and then there would be the upper echelon that we would necessarily need to classify as the "overprivileged". We should restore the rights of the underprivileged and tear down the overprivileged because that's just ... right.

Okay, so I've thrown out the standard definition of "privilege" that is distinct from "right" and I've been able to make sense now out of "underprivileged" since there is no distinction between "privilege" and "right". Just when I think I'm getting back to the "understood" section of the language, someone throws out, "You know, driving is a privilege, not a right!" And ... poof! ... I'm back in the confusion pot. Seems to me that, while it may look like English is becoming the universal language here on this planet, what we're actually experiencing is a return to Babel.