In World War I, many soldiers had a psychological condition which was caused by the rapid gunfire on the field. This condition was called "shell shock". Simple, to the point, and anyone who hears this terminology will understand the condition. Sounds like the guns themselves. In World War II, the same condition was termed battle fatigue. We doubled the number of syllables. But fatigue is a nice word. SHELL SHOCK! Battle fatigue. In the Vietnam War, the exact same condition was called operational exhaustion. The meaning of the terminology is lost through the dramatization and euphimization of the linguistics. By the 21st century, we renamed the syndrome post-traumatic stress disorder. We added another hyphen! Maybe this is why we study SAT vocabulary.
Americans can't handle reality. They need soft language to conceal their fears. The bath room became "powder room". Car crashes became automobile accidents. Partly cloudy became partly sunny. Handicapped became handicapable. And this is all to hid the rich people's fears while people live in slums. Oh sorry, excuse me, the economically disadvantaged living in substandard housing within underdeveloped areas of the region. This doesn't make them any richer. They are still poor!
Changing the name doesn't change the condition. Does anyone read King Lear anymore? People are convinced that they are doing better than they are because of the language. In schools, you are either outstanding or exceptional. What about those people who don't do anything except play videogames all day? They are "minimally exceptional". We are all told that we can do whatever we want in life. NO! I can't become the best wrestler in the world. It just won't happen. And the American Dream forces us to forget that.
The area where people most often fool themselves is age. People always say, "Oh, I am just a tiny bit older now. Just admit it, you are old, and accept it. We all age at some point. I once heard someone say that they are 90 years young. Are we so obsessed as a society to remove all traces of fear as to describe a human property using its antonym? This all is going to make me vomit, or actually, engage in a proprietary protein spill.
