Orange!

A dear friend, who I'll call "C" wrote this, and gave me permission to pass it on. I thought it was great!

I just wanted to add, since I've had so many people ask if they can post it or forward it-my friend is completely okay with this being passed on, so long as nothing is changed without her permission.

Words represent a societal definition of something. What society defines a word by, must be accepted by all. Sometimes society evolves and additional meanings are attached to the same word. This can lead to the original word and its original definition being diluted. Eventually, the younger and succeeding generations forget what the word meant to begin with. The word can become a blanket expression to mean almost anything....thus rendering it meaningless. Like the words hot, awesome, cool, groovy, neat, etc.

This will affect all people in a society, whether they individually use the word as originally defined, or use it in all its new diverse, meaningless ways. So what society does with a word changes that word for ALL people. It takes away their choice of how to define the original word.

Now, let's say I have a problem with the word "orange." I don't like the fact that orange means a combination of red and yellow. I don't care that orange has always meant red and yellow for hundreds of years to millions of people, I think it's wrong. I think it should mean other color combinations as well, like two of the same color. Maybe I think it should mean ANY two color combinations...or any multiple color combinations.

So, I decide to start by saying, "Orange should mean yellow and yellow mixed." And then, "Orange should mean red and red mixed." Then later, "Orange should be not just red and yellow, but blue and yellow too." After a while, I might say, "Orange should mean blue and red, not just red and yellow."

So, now the word orange has become the word for yellow, red, orange, green, and purple. If society accepts that, then everyone is forced to recognize orange means five things now, not just one.

Then I could say, "Orange should mean blue and white," then "blue and black," then "red and yellow and blue and green, etc." and just keep adding color combinations. Eventually, orange becomes the word for ANY color, not a specific combination of two colors.

The word orange would become meaningless.

This is what is happening with marriage. It has for millenia meant the legal union of husband and wife. Some don't like that. It's like saying:

"I believe orange is a combination of red and yellow. But, I feel it is not my place to make that decision for other people. Let them define orange as red and red together, or yellow and yellow together. It doesn't in any way affect anyone else if red and red mixed means orange."

Or saying:

"Does it damage YOU personally somehow that some people want to call a combination of yellow and yellow, orange?"

"If your understanding of colors, or creation of artwork, is so fragile that it can't withstand letting some artists use the SAME WORD (orange) to describe their color combinations, then go an invent a new word for orange, for yourself and your friends."

"I am not going to give up the word 'orange' just because some artistic purists would prefer to claim that word for themselves, to keep it defined as red and yellow combined. There is no basis for circumscribing the meaning of the word as narrowly as you propose."

"What gives you the right to decide what any artist calls any combination of colors?"

"I think your stance is morally abhorrent..I hope you got reamed for the bigotry of thinking orange should ONLY mean a combination of red and yellow."

"Blue and red and white and black are colors too....they deserve the same rights as orange."

"Calling any color combination orange is a human right. You do not get to say that only red and yellow combined are allowed. You don't have the right to take a word that doesn't belong to you and say that you will choose what color combination it represents."