Yes, âworth and dignityâ flows much better because of the prosodic pattern in English to build a conjunct with Shorter + Longer pattern for words (âworth and dignityâ vs âdignity and worthâ)!
Weâre dealing with a past in which monetary worth was assigned to human beings. âWorthinessâ is more explicit that we are talking about the quality of being worthy. Definition âquality of being good enough.â We are all good enough as we are. Worth can be monetized. People were and still are being monetized. That definition of worth is not the original intention; for people who have a history of their people being monetized. Worthiness can never be monetized. We are all worthy of love, respect, dignity, kindness, compassion, and care.
Worthiness definition:
Collins dictionary: having the qualities or abilities required
Cambridge: how suitable someone or something is
Oxford Dictionary: the fact of having the necessary qualities for something
Macmillan Dictionary: no result Dictionary.com: the fact or quality of having great or adequate merit, character, or value:
Obviously word meanings are flexible, but to me, this doesnât make sense. âAll people have the right to flourish with inherent dignity and are suitableâ Or " ⌠and have adequate merit".
I understand the reasoning re: âworthâ in the FAQ, and agree that a history of people assigned monetary worth deserves consideration. I also agree that âworth,â in both dictionary definition and common parlance, holds broader meaning, and am somewhat inclined toward claiming that broader meaning. Thatâs a way of saying Iâm âon the fence.â However, from a âgut feelingâ standpoint, I have to add that, to me, âinherent dignity and worthâ or âinherent worth and dignityâ have more âpunchâ than âinherent dignity and worthiness.â
I donât much care about the FAQ explanation, unless it is added into the by-laws. If it needs to be explained, it should either be rewritten or the explanation included.
Why canât worthiness be monetized (another horrible word)? Why do you state that âwe are all worthy of love, respect, dignity, kindness, compassion, and careâ as a fact, when some people in the wider society clearly do not believe that. Do the politicians who refuse universal health insurance consider everyone so worthy? Do those who want indiscriminate rights to pollute othersâ air or water? Worth is the more common and understandable word and should be used.
I prefer âworthâ. I have read the FAQ rationale for using âworthinessâ instead of âworthâ. It makes a good point, but Iâm still not convinced. Worth is powerful for its succinctness. Worthiness sounds trendy and pretentious. The extra syllables seem to me to water down the meaning.
Maybe the sentence should stop at ââŚevery person has the right to flourishâ.
That is the important part, and eliminates the argument about âworthâ and âworthinessâ.
I do think that the word âworthâ is less objectionable if it is used in the phrase âinherent worthâ. Used in this way, it implies an equality of worth for all.
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