Read Better Words [corrected]

Rare is the day that yours truly finds himself disagreeing with Vox Day, but today is one such day. Usually, Day discusses topics which he is interested in but I am not, so I just roll with what he says, because he is honest, intelligent, and wise. That being said, there is one publicly expressed opinion of his that I must offer a rejoinder to, since it is my belief that we are not in a post-literate age.

It is absolutely true that less books are being read. I've read exactly one book since Christmas, and that puts me above the average of my social circle in uni of all places. But I still read a lot, on a daily basis. I read social media feeds and blog posts and such things. Excluding vocation-related reading, I would estimate that I read some five thousand words a day, and that is in line with what I have observed among my 'post-literate' peers.

However, there is a readily apparent difference between reading books and reading social media feeds. Said difference is probably what the word 'post-literate' is used to get at. While 'post-biblio-[suffix]' would be more dialectically acccurate, the bibliophiles have a point. We should be reading more books. Reading five thousand words takes less than 20 minutes in your native tongue. I wonder how many books each of us would get through in a year if we took half our 'reading stuff on the internet' time and read books with it instead. It's the same activity. We are already literate. But the words are better.

Hence I ask you, dear reader, to read better words. There are many better words out there. If you have no idea where to start, I recommend the Bible for about five minutes a day. For the other fifteen, ask about any genre on SG and the bibliophiles will help you out, guaranteed. Much love!

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Correction: I stand corrected by people wiser than myself. Post-literate is the correct term. Mea maxima culpa for getting into a semantics spit in my seecond language with a bunch of bibliophiles in their first language. I should know better. I should read better words.

All The Rhetoric That One Needs

Some Rorschach tests are easier to pass than others. Allow yours truly to describe one that I passed recently:

Leftist woman: "I'm so glad that the government is caring about the environment."
Holzkind: "It really sucks for low-income communities and small businesses, who can afford neither the raised gas prices nor flashy, new, high-efficiency cars."
LW: *crickets*
[ One week later ]
LW: "Hey Holzkind, can I get a ride to [ place well within walking distance ] ?"
HK: "No."

As everyone can imagine, 'Leftist woman' is somewhat upset at me. Even better, she understands that she cannot say anything, since I'm doing exactly what she wants. It is, of course, pure coincidence that she now has to walk a quarter mile through moderate rainfall. But she will be happy to do it for her beloved environment, I'm sure.

More importantly, what the above demonstrates, is that rhetoric is easy, even for the dialectically inclined. This should not come as a surprise, since it is usually the lower IQ bands that are limited to the rhetorical. Nobody is ever limited to the more difficult of two options. For example, everyone who can drive manual can also drive automatic, because automatic is easier.

Now that it is established that rhetoric is easier, here is your first rhetorical device. It is also the only one you will ever need, although you are welcome to experiment with others:

"No."

That's it. Just say 'no'. The reason 'no' works so extremely well is that we live in a fake cultural hegemony that demands compliance. The people who go around demanding compliance are actually a minority. And they know it, and they are afraid. Hence the reactions that you will draw with a simple 'no'. In one word, you activate their fear that not everyone agrees with their delusion, directly attacking the very root of their identity and confidence. The dialectically challenged erroneously think that consensus means correctness. Hence the manufactured consent of the fraudulent elections. Hence also the awesome power of 'no'.

Just say no.