AMERICA - WHO ARE WE?
What is America? WHO is America? Have
we forgotten who we are, or do we plead
ignorance, because we never knew? Well,
let me be the first one to step up to the
plate, and declare my dysfunction: “ I,
Freya Pruitt, take responsibility for the
decay of America.” There. I said it. And,
it is true. Have I ever taken the time to
study The Constitution, The Bill of Rights,
or thoroughly grasp the meaning of The
Declaration of Independence? Do I fully
understand what these documents mean to
me personally? No.
Written by Freya Pruitt
I’m afraid I have been like most Americans
who just go through life, doing what they
have to do. Work, raise our children, pursue
a career, start a business, close a business,
marry, divorce, etc. Have I left anything
out? Well, hold on- let me think for a
second. Oh, yeah- I left out God! Now,
here’s a million dollar question: who is
God? If we don’t even know who and what
America is, then how will we ever know
who God is?
So, where do we begin to uncover the
ultimate discovery? Without communication
and a communal understanding of the
definition of words, would there be any
hope? I guess we should start at the
conception and application of words in the
English language. But who is responsible
for getting that great ball of definitions
rolling through the annals of American
history? Let me assure you, the never ending
search for knowledge, will lead us down
a long “rabbit trail” of information that
ultimately winds up, at our final destination:
the truth. This should be a very interesting
journey, so we better get started.
I think we should start at the beginning
with the meaning of words. When I
consider the meaning of words, I go back
to the “father” of words, Noah Webster. In
some strange way, I think we have all taken
Noah Webster for granted. How many of us
stop to consider what we are truly saying?
Isn’t Noah Webster the ultimate authority
on the definition of words? Didn’t he create
a communication fortress that has become
the foundation of American, literary
history? Can the definitions of words,
actually change? To get these answers, I
think it would be prudent for all of us to go
back in time, and take a good look at one
of our most honored and revered patriots:
Noah Webster.
documentation of the etymology of the words,
Webster learned 26 languages, including
Old English (Anglo Saxon), German, Greek,
Italian, Spanish, French, Hebrew, Arabic, and
Sanskrit.”
“Noah Webster was an historic American
lexicographer, text book author, spelling
reformer, word enthusiast, and editor. He
has been called the “Father of American
Scholarship and Education.” “In 1806,
Webster published his first dictionary, A
Compendious Dictionary of the English
Language .
The following year, at the age of 43,
Webster began writing an expanded and
comprehensive dictionary, An American
Dictionary of the English Language,
that would take 27 years to complete the
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Noah Webster