Language controls our thinking. If we cannot verbalize a concept, we cannot discuss nor think about it. To control a person's thoughts and then actions, remove words or change their definitions to limit his range of thought. Let's provide examples of two words with the same Latin root and similar meaning being removed and redefined.
The Latin word Radix means root or rooted. These two words come from it:
Radical, radicalize from Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Radical comes from a Latin word meaning "root," and in its earliest uses it referred to roots of various kinds, first literal and then figurative. Because roots are the deepest part of a plant, radical came to describe things understood as fundamental or essential. In phrases like "radical reform" and "radical change," radical implies a shift in the most fundamental or essential part of something; such uses led to the word radical taking on meanings relating to extreme views, policies, etc.
Deracinate from Marriam-Webster Dictionary:
: uproot
: to remove or separate from a native environment or culture
especially : to remove the racial or ethnic characteristics or influences from
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Get to the Root of Deracinate
There is a hint about the roots of deracinate in its first definition. Deracinate was borrowed into English in the late 16th century from Middle French and can be traced back to the Latin word radix, meaning "root." Although deracinate began life referring to literal plant roots, it quickly took on a second, metaphorical, meaning suggesting removal of anyone or anything from native roots or culture. Other offspring of radix include eradicate ("to pull up by the roots" or "to do away with as completely as if by pulling up by the roots") and radish (the name for a crisp, edible root). Though the second sense of deracinate mentions racial characteristics and influence, the words racial and race derive from razza, an Italian word of uncertain origin.
If a person is rooted in his ancestry, race, and culture, he is stronger and less able to be pushed around. Someone who has weak or no roots can be easily moved around or manipulated. People in power would prefer a population who can easily be herded and pushed to do what the leaders want them to do.
Someone who is radical is someone who has strong roots. To deradicalize someone is to remove his roots and make him more pliable. Someone who is deracinated has low attachment to his race or kin, their history of achievement, and culture. People can be deradicalized or deracinated by teaching them a defiled history and teaching them that other races are equal or better than his.
