The Ruthless Butchering of the English Language…

Did anyone notice the oxymoron in my title? "Ruthless butchering of the English lanuage" is just the kind of prose that George Orwell would denounce. He talks about the dead metaphors and how the “newly invented metaphor assist thought by evoking a visual image” (read George Orwell's "Politics and Speech", 1946 in full) Orwell criticizes different aspects that he feels are being misused within the English language, and how overall the language is in a decadent state.

“The whole tendency of modern prose is away from concreteness” I couldn’t agree more with the statement. Being able to effectively manipulate the English language seems to be a notorious but essential characteristic of a politician. Knowing how to effectively deliver a speech, respond to questions in a way that is least revealing, say a lot but about nothing, take a stand on highly controversial issue while sound neutral, as not to ostracize any segment of supporters, know how to effectively conjure images in people’s minds, and emotionally stir them so they will share the speaker’s passion or zeal… for a politician these skills are priceless. Sadly, the public is often swayed people by the eloquent, colorful speeches that say nothing but are replete with vivid metaphors and elegant rhetoric. A miscalculation, a careless phrasing or a poor choice of words can prove catastrophic for someone in a leadership position.
Bush made a serious error in a statement in 2003. To quote from USA Today “There are some who feel that the the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is bring them on," Bush said. "We've got the force necessary to deal with the security situation." He hit big trouble when he underestimated the potential of terrorism activity and the success they’d have in effectively killing so many Americans troops. Such are the dangers of speech. “White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush's combative tone was not meant to invite attacks on Americans.”I think what the president was expressing there is his confidence in the men and women of the military to handle the military mission they still remain in the middle of," Fleischer said.
But Bush was criticized as "irresponsible and insightful." …"I am shaking my head in disbelief," Lautenberg said. "When I served in the Army in Europe during World War II, I never heard any military commander — let alone the commander in chief — invite enemies to attack U.S. troops."
Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., said, "I have a message for the president: enough of the phony, macho rhetoric

Government officials place strong emphasis on choice words particularly when they are trying to gain support of a cause effectively.

“The word Fascism has now no meaning except in so far as it signifies "something not desirable.”…“Islamic Fascism” sound familiar? “Weapons of mass destruction”, “bring freedom and democracy” are additional phrases coined by this government to in attempt to build a network of support for an unpopular war. It is government propaganda. Perhaps it is a more subtle method, but it is a highly effective; the phrases coined by the government tend to stick around for a long time.

“Democracy…ooo pick me!", Pres. of Venezuela (What he really meant to say)

“It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it: consequently the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using that word if it were tied down to any one meaning.”(-George Orwell)

Written over fifty years ago but oh so relevant today; at an era when the world has been overly simplified and depicted in shades of black and white with very little grey, countries are determined to be categorized under the “good” rather than the “evil”, and have their regime called a “democracy” rather than a “tyranny”. Regimes know that being characterized with these negative terminologies will alienate other countries and make it difficult for them to be successful in foreign policy making.
The President of Venezuela in an interview with TIME magazine actually tried to stick in the word democracy and make the case for his having a tolerable regime. He emphasized his allowance of voiced government opposition and the prevalence of it in his country. The humor of associating democracy with his regime is immense, but yet attempting to cast his regime in a better light he managed to stick the word "democracy" into his rhetoric.