The Language of Politics

I was browsing through the internet today and found a website about Political Propaganda, and how its success hinges on the careful manipulation of words. The article's essential claim--with which Orwell can certainly agree--is that subversive agencies are giving the highest priority to the corruption of the English language. These "'semantic forgers'", all in the course of promoting their "odious" political correctness, are at work in our schools and colleges, in central and local government, in publishing houses and throughout the mass media.  

Here's more of what I found (Note that some parallels can be drawn between the below elements and Orwell's criticisms): 

Elements of Propaganda

Word approval – Whereby certain words or phrases are given special prominence and 'respectability' by their frequent usage in influential circles and the mass media. People are thus apt to adopt such usages themselves on the grounds that 'what's good enough for the likes of them must be alright.' One need only observe the influence of popular media figures in promoting everyday use of certain words or catch-phrases. Note also how certain profanities once wholly unacceptable in polite company have now become commonplace in the mass media and, as a result, in everyday social intercourse. 

Word disapproval – Whereby certain words or phrases expose the user to disagreeable social reactions like personal abuse, loss of preferment and even of employment, and other forms of victimisation. The offender is put under more or less punishing pressure to 'mind your language' and conform; as witness the rampant 'political correctness' lobbies in education, publishing, the mass media and politics. Such pressures now begin at kindergarten level. 

Repetition – Given enough repetition the 'in' word or phrase will soon replace its predecessors, if only because people don't like to sound 'odd' or behind the times. 

Euphemism – Disguising whatever is intrinsically ugly, repulsive, immoral or otherwise unacceptable behind more attractive, less offensive, or neutral labels. At the everyday level this is just a matter of simple politeness and civilised conduct; but in the hands of unscrupulous politicians and 'social engineers' the euphemism becomes a sinister device to deceive and indoctrinate the public into accepting things which are intrinsically repugnant or contrary to the national interest.

Typical examples are 'gay' for sex pervert; 'love-making' for casual copulation; 'multi-cultural' for mongrelised; 'under-privileged' for parasite; 'entrepreneur' for swindler; 'negotiated settlement' for surrender; 'subsidiarity' for subordination; 'freedom' for anarchy; 'non-judgmental' for indiscriminate; 'value-free' for unprincipled. 

Censorship – May of course go well beyond mere word or phrase disapproval to suppression of certain kinds of publication and of certain writers or speakers by officialdom, academics and the media. Some forms of censorship are of course benign; for example when applied to pornography, national security and libellous material. The credentials and motivation of the censors determine whether or not censorship is benign or malignant. 

Popular appeal – Whereby the propagandist's message is 'packaged' or presented in a way likely to disarm criticism. This is designed to exploit the 'feel-good factor' among the all-too-gullible general public, using popular entertainers and radio/TV soap-operas as vehicles for multi-racialism, feminism, homosexuality, promiscuity, federalism, etc.

The popular appeal element of such propaganda is therefore an artful compound of bogus philanthropy, cloying sentimentality, euphemism and superficiality; all designed to 'help the medicine go down' all those gullible throats. But, in particular, the 'multi-cultural' campaign amounts to the same thing as telling us that adding dirty water to vintage wine produces an exciting new cocktail.