Turning on the Right

Media's Corruption of Language

In the classic “1984” published in 1949, the language of the totalitarian state, Oceania, is Newspeak, a?state-controlled language embroidered with a thread of deception. The Ministry of Peace deals with war, the Ministry of Plenty deals with shortages and the Ministry of Truth deals with Propaganda. The protagonist, Winston Smith, works at the Ministry of Truth, the Records Department, where he spends his days “repairing” historical records to align with the current inclinations of the ruling party.? Winston Smith may have been stationed in Ottawa although this hasn’t been confirmed.

There is an eerie modern-day analog to this literary fiction. Some of todays media is getting a lot of ice time racking up assists to dystopian goals. Neglectful of professional responsibilities and driven by a desperate quest for eyeballs to compete with social media, mainstream media manipulates language, choosing words and punctuation to editorialize content. Previously neutral and objective descriptors are reformulated to reflect modern stereotypes. Conveniently, this allows antagonists to be dispatched with a single word or phrase, very tidy if you dislike fact checking or are writing to a deadline.

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A favorite target of the deceit are conservatives.

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Consider the reference to someone who is “right wing”, now a pejorative. If you ?have the following symptoms, you may be suffering from Rightwingism.

·??????? An inclination to small government: Conservatives are apparently concerned the federal civil service has an annual payroll of $61 billion and numbers 357,000 people, up 31% in 7 years and the largest employer in the country. The 10 provinces have an additional 224,000 civil servants. It isn’t clear why conservatives are against well paying jobs for Canadians.

·??????? Wanting lower taxes: According to the Fraser Institute the average Canadian family pays 45.3% of its annual income in taxes. This compares to 35.6% spent on basic necessities. Canadians keep 54.7% of what they earn but that’s still not enough for ingrate conservatives.

·??????? Encouraging managed immigration: Rightwingism sufferers argue managing immigration reflects a desire to be responsible with government resources, an inclination to preservation of Canadian values and an ambition to align needed skills with employment opportunities. Half wit conservatives think because it has taken generations to make this country attractive to those who wish to come here it’s fair to require applicants assume some responsibility. ?Nobody is buying this drivel.

·??????? Promoting free speech: George Orwell said, ?“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear”. Other right-wing chowderheads include George Washington who said, “If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter”. ?Fortunately, this nonsense is corrected through innovative education. ?Universities now avoid overthinking the big issues by only permitting speakers the students already agree with. Right on man!

·??????? Meritocracy: ability over identity. This rubbish has been championed by many. Martin Luther King, misguided child of the ‘60s, wished for his children to be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. Coaches in the NHL want players who can skate, conductors want musicians who can play, and patients want doctors who understand cancer isn’t a sign in the Zodiac . Colonialist prejudice like this can’t be allowed to continue.

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Another term much in circulation and a favorite of media is “populist”, referring to someone who does popular things, a politician reflecting the will of the electorate. Populism has its roots in activism by a diverse group of ruffians…farmers, labor unions and suffragettes. And in case history doesn’t provide sufficient contempt, current media defines populists to include Donald Trump, Hugo Chavez, Juan Peron and Silvio Berlusconi. Still want to be a populist?

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In contrast to populists are the “elites”. These are leaders who know what the people want even if the people don’t. The elites are blessed with enormous talent and a generous disposition, prepared to run your life so you don’t have to. Recent Canadian examples include the father and son team of Pierre Elliot and Justin Trudeau. ?A ?group of really bright people, people who have been “around”, people with savvy and street smarts, gifted with intuition, that’s who should be in charge. Everyone else is then free to live their lives, knowing the elites will “always do what’s best for Canadians, will always have their backs”. Media loves the elites because they are elites themselves.

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Then there are the capitalists. These looneys believe individuals should be able to exchange their labor for wages, hold private property and its title, start a business, accumulate wealth, have competitive markets to keep prices low and encourage innovation. They believe in freedom and the power of incentive. What’s next; the law of supply and demand? You can’t make this stuff up.

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Obviously, the better alternative is a centrally managed economy led by a handful of the divinely inspired, commissioned by providence to lead us to the promised land. Tax the rich until they stop being that way, ?redistribute the resulting cash flow to voters and be king for life. The plan is straightforward, understandable and a piece of cake to implement. ??

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Current day media are masters of manipulation, but they weren’t the first to think of its possibilities. ?Lewis Carrol published “Alice in Wonderland” in 1865.

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“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.”