Words are becoming cheapened and debased

“When words are many,” wrote Solomon – while his wisdom remained with him – “transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent” (Prov.10v19). It is a lesson that is especially timely right now.

We have never seen such a proliferation of words as we do today, due largely to the digital communication revolution. The inevitable result is that words become cheapened and debased. In the same way as a cash-strapped government discovers that mass money-printing leads to inflation, so it is with the reckless (mis)use of words. The more people talk – or text, or tweet, or emote, or sound off – the less they truly say. The purchasing power of their words is shrunk.

Lively discussions about “free speech” and its limits are all the rage at present and show little sign of abating. As I write, the comedian Graham Linehan has been apprehended by the Metropolitan Police following tweets which were critical of transgender ideology, eliciting swift responses from the expected quarters: Rowling, Jenrick, Farage, Musk et al. By its very nature, this debate is likely to feed on itself and grow exponentially in volume, pitch and extent; it’s very difficult to restrain people from talking about their incontrovertible human right to talk. In this way human speech becomes ever more untethered, undisciplined and vitriolic.