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Etymology is the study of word origins. Over time, words often change their meaning. Sometimes this is a result of natural usage in a changing world, as in the case of the word "goodbye", which started out as "God Be With You" (or "with Ye"). As the farewell utterance retained its usefulness even among people who grew less religious, the four original words lost their utility. In other cases, as highlighted by George Orwell in his book
1984, authorities manipulate words in order to place new meanings on ancient and valuable texts, common sayings, or other influential bits of language.
Deception is an instinctive tool creatures from bugs to humans use to improve the prospects of continuing their species. Most deception in nature happens between species, for example when a predator or prey accomplishes its goal by providing bad signals to its enemy. Camouflage is one good example. Human beings, however, often use deception on other members of our own species. Though this strategy tends to wane with age, wisdom, and maturity in most, there are certain kinds of people who employ the strategy of deception at an increasing rate as they get older and take on more responsibilities. This is because there is a sharp contrast between the group they favor privately and the group they favor publicly. Etymology is a useful tool for detecting and remedying the damage caused by such deception.
For those who occupy positions of influence, there is always the temptation to get people to believe things that aren't true, or to look at things in a warped way. For example, when George W. Bush and his administration were pondering how best to protect the usefulness of the national currency against growing interest in using some other medium of exchange to trade oil, they concocted the story of "Weapons of Mass Destruction" to justify an attack on Iraq. It also seems likely that the destruction of the Word Trade Center Towers in 2001 was part of a "false flag" operation designed to justify the attack. There are many examples of such "false flag operations" throughout history. While the majority of the world's population suffers from the outcomes of these deceptions, any exploration of crony capitalism, fascism, communism, or other government structures will show that they provide great benefits to those who are in power and to their friends and business associates.