Not the Christian sort, and not the end of history, nor the last stage of capitalism. Possibly, the end of life on earth, but that’s not the end I’m concerned with. What concerns me is the end of language.
Consider Republican discourse: it has become completely meaningless. If the words used no longer have any denotation, if the phrases they utter no longer have any denotative meaning, then their language is meaningless. If a language is meaningless, is it language?
Only in a sense. A new sense, in which language is purely emotive, and its purpose is only to evoke emotions. In this new sense, language is music, more or less, and so rhythm and repetition become dominant aspects of this new discourse.
Take, for example, one of the most repeated phrases used by Republicans: “the radical left.” Standing on their stumps, actual or metaphorical, they pronounce over and over how the “radical left” is out to destroy the country. Putting aside the meaninglessness of “destroy” (how destroy?) and “country” (the entire country? In what sense?), what in the hell is “the radical left”?
The phrase is meant to evoke a strong emotion, that is all. Consumers of Republican discourse have learned through repetition that “the radical left” is to be feared and hated. In reality, there is no such thing as a “radical left,” just as there is no such thing as a “woke mind” or “woke virus.”
One could parse any extended bit of discourse from Republican politicians–notably, current candidates for president–and in the parsing discover not a single phrase that had a denotative meaning; i.e., one that actually had a referent in reality. Their discourse bypasses the cerebral cortex completely. The reptilian brain is where their language gains its meaning.
Thus, of what use are books? Of science? Of logic? Of facts? When language has no denotative meaning, all that is meaningful is feelings: likes, dislikes. Click on the thumbs up or down and move on to the next sensation.
These are the end times I’m talking about. It no longer matters what you say; what matters is how someone feels when you say it.
So, coo coo ca chew
Goo goo ga joob
Inna gadda da vida
They are the walrus; we are the carpenters.