THE WISDOM OF THE LANGUAGE
The word BAD
is one of the most basic and fundamental words in the English
language. If we grew up in an English-speaking household, we
probably learned to say good and bad shortly after we learned
to say Mommy, Daddy, and water.
Me be good boy or Me no be bad boy
were probably two of the first sentences we were able to string
together. When we were sitting in our high chairs, throwing our
nursing bottles on the floor to see if we could hit the cat,
our mothers admonished us, saying, No! That's bad! Don't
throw your bottle at the cat! Don't be a bad boy! Be a good boy!
Eventually, if not immediately, we got the point! At least, most
of us did! Good to be good boy! Not good to be bad boy! (On
the other hand, to be perfectly honest about it, sometimes more
fun to be bad boy!)
Now, let's get intellectual for a minute! Have you ever wondered
where the word BAD comes from?
If not, don't worry about it! Apparently, you have never been
bitten by the etymology bug. ("Etymology" is the study
of the origin of words.) However, if you find word origins even
mildly fascinating, you might be interested in the origin of
the word BAD.
It comes from the Middle English word BADDE (pronounced
bad-duh). BADDE comes from the Old English word
BAEDDEL (pronounced bad-dul). The interesting thing
is that BAEDDEL did not mean what we mean when
we say BAD. Do you know what it means?
Here is the definition of BAEDDEL: a person
of both genders, a hermaphrodite.
There is a spin-off word from BAEDDEL. That word
is BAEDLING. The Oxford English Dictionary defines
BAEDLING as effeminate fellow, womanish
man. It started as a simple descriptive term and
evolved into a general, multi-purpose term denoting anything
that was not good, anything disordered or unsatisfactory
or contrary to the way things should be.
And now we have the word GAY. If you are a kid
in public school these days and you want to say that something
is unsatisfactory or not good or doesn't make
the grade or doesn't meet the standard, you might
be tempted to say, Oh, that is so gay! However,
if the Language Polizei hear you say this, they
are likely to send you to the Principal to get
your knuckles rapped or to the School Counselor
to get your head shrunk or to the FBI to get your
fingers inked. You might be charged with "hate speech"
because, by using "gay" to mean "not
good", you insulted our homosexual brethren and
implied that homosexuality is "not good"
in comparison to heterosexuality.
The truth, of course, is that homosexuality is an intrinsically
disordered condition. Who says so? The
Catholic Church says so! That's who says so! There are a few
other righteous dudes who say so too! The Catholic Church is
not totally alone in this, although sometimes it seems that way.
So, dear friend, if it ever happens to you that you are heard
using the word "gay" to mean "not good" and
if you are penalized for it, be of good cheer! You were simply
following the example of your English-speaking ancestors. You
are an heir to the Wisdom of the English Language,
into which has been incorporated a goodly portion of the Wisdom
of the Ancients.
And do you know what? The Language Polizei will
never succeed in their quest to convince people that homosexuality
is equal to heterosexuality. They will huff and they will puff
and they will try to blow our house down, but they won't succeed.
People are just not that stupid. (Well, to tell you the truth,
there are a few people who are that stupid, but most people are
not!) We can be chided and scolded, hassled and marginalized,
water-boarded and toe-tickled, fined and imprisoned. We can be
told that we had better wake up and smell the coffee and accept
homosexuality into the mainstream of society. We can be told
that we had better shape up, or else we'll be shipped out, etc.,
etc., etc.. But it won't work, because - deep, deep down - we
all know better. What do we know? We know that homosexuality
is an intrinsically disordered condition.
We wish no harm on any homosexuals. We do no harm to any homosexuals.
At the same time, we resist all efforts
to convince us that homosexuality is an acceptable life style.
We pray for all who are afflicted with homosexuality.
Spread the news, dear brothers and sisters: Homosexuality
is so gay!
In addition to which, homosexuality is badde!
P.S. - Did you know that this bulletin article could land the
pastor in jail if he were living in Canada?
The way things are going, it is possible that, without ever leaving
Pennsylvania, we might all be living in Canada pretty soon. |
Saturday, 27 March