A consolation of getting older is that it comes with memory. Older people can remember events for which younger ones depend on what they read and what they are told. And what we read and what we are told is under the control of those who are doing the writing and the talking. Thus can reality be manipulated. That manipulation, which is a manipulation of values, attitudes and understanding, starts with the manipulation and control of language. Which brings me to terrorism. But before that … What follows here may appear to some to be far too subtle for its…