“Say ‘conservative’ and they wag their tails. Say ‘liberal’ and they bare their fangs. More to the point, say either and all thinking ceases. . . . [P]eople hear this doublespeak and cheer. Why not? They have been taught that words mean what you need them to in a given moment. Turns out, all it requires is a limitless supply of gall and the inherent belief that people are dumber than a bag of hammers.”
The Miami Herald, 2008 (See column here.)
(Thanks to alert WORDster Jerry Vonderbrink)
Pease’s Soapbox:
Here’s what set Mr. Pitts off: Mitt Romney said,
“We need change, all right. Change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington. We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington—throw out the big-government liberals” (Romney, Sept. 3, 2008).
If you read Pitts’ column, “set off” is the correct term. After eight years of Bush Administration rule, Romney thinks we need a more conservative hand on the national tiller. Whaa? sputters Pitts.
George Orwell envisioned a world like that in 1984:
Sound familiar?
As in Orwell’s world, gobbledygook starts sounding like common sense. Of course, this is a presidential election season, when up is down, black is white, wrong is right and let’s gogogogo!
When we say, “common sense,” of course, it’s as in Lewis Carroll, not Thomas Paine (although Tom did refer to “times that try men’s souls.” Which would make him a sexist).
But back to gobbledygook:
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that’s all.”
Which, indeed, shall be master in this election season? Promises? Soundbites? Oratory? TV ads? Policy or deeds? Just how freakin’ gullible are we? If we hear a thing, it must be so. And how we perceive a thing is as powerful as the thing itself. Promising “Hope” creates hope. Saying “Change” makes change.
How, we must ask ourselves, do we know what we think we know about the world? or about our candidates?
For a social conservative like Mitt Romney to call on Washington to clean up its “liberal” ways after 7+ years of Bush Administration policies may sound like it makes sense....if your brain isn’t engaged. But as U.S. financial markets fall through the floor, the national debt sets breath-taking records, international adventurism has never been so high and America’s global rep has never been so low—maybe Mitt has a point. Maybe we do need more conservation in America—conserving budget, brains, and basic common sense, which all are in sadly short supply.
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