Words are important (oddly enough). They’re important because they’re the mechanism through which we communicate. But in order for that mechanism to work each word has to have a commonly understood meaning (although that naturally doesn’t prevent the meaning of words evolving over time). For example, if I told a friend that I was going to meet him at a particular time today it’s important that we both have the same understanding of the word meet. It wouldn’t work out too well for example if he understood it to mean “to join at an agreed or designated place or time”, and I understood it to mean “cook a large sea bass.”
It’s important therefore that we all understand the radical evolution the word hypocrisy has undergone in the past few months thanks to Labour. Previously hypocrisy meant:
“The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.”
Now though after several senior cabinet ministers have been found campaigning against the closure of post offices in their constituencies and denied hypocrisy despite the cabinet having made the decision to last May to go ahead with those closures it would seem the word means something else entirely, perhaps:
“The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one holds or possess.”
New Labour, New Definitions.