Retail stores are going to school on our political
establishment. They have learned that language or even just words can be used
to influence the masses. Recently I received a brochure from Kohl’s that listed
“performance tops” for $19.99 whereas its T-shirts were listed for $9.99. Essentially
the same garment, Kohl’s has found a way with words to extract another $10 from
its gullible customers.
Of course politicians learned this legerdemain a long long
time ago. The “Affordable Care Act” (Obamacare) is anything but affordable. The
only adjective that the Democrats seem to use is “extreme” or their noun is
“extremists.” A number of years ago Republicans realized that “liberal” was a
political killer and it was used to help defeat Dukakis’s presidential hopes. Rifles
magically become “assault weapons.” When “global warming” started to lose its
ability to sway, it was morphed into “climate change” … which was harder to
debate. Such words are opinion-panel tested to a fair-thee-well and then
disseminated to their apparatchiks to
drum into the American psyche. The sad truth is that it works … facts be
damned.
I have often opined on this subject under the term
“Orwellian” … see: Red Flags, More Newspeak and Weasel Words.
Once one’s ears are attuned to this political ruse, one cannot watch or hear a
newscast or read a media message (mine included) without being bombarded with
such subliminal syllabic slyness. “Illegal immigrants” become “undocumented
workers.” (What happens if they are not working?) A terrorists attack at Fort
Hood becomes “workplace violence.” Attempts to stop voter fraud becomes “voter
suppression.” The Tea Party is besmirched (even by our President) with the smirked slur “tea baggers.” I
sometimes wonder if Noam Chomsky is not on the Democrat payroll?
All I ask of you, dear reader, is please learn to filter out and ignore such blather.
