Blogs > Liberty and Power > Fun with Doublespeak

Jan 26, 2005

Fun with Doublespeak


by Liberty and Power


Commenters over at Hit & Run had some fun with David Dreier's "this is not an ID card" bill, finding ways we might expand on the concept. One said cop cars could have a light on top that says"this is not police brutality" when cops are engaged in a Rodney King-sytle beatdown. Or, to turn the tables, Guantanmo inmates could tattoo"I am not an enemy combatant" to their foreheads, and demand release. Responders to spam email would recieve plain brown envelopes clearly marked"not a penis enlarger" or"this is not penis cream," to protect their privacy. Pamela Anderson could get herself a t-shirt that says"these are real." Philip Morris could escape liability and regulation by simply affixing a sticker to each pack of Marlboros that says,"these are not cigarettes."

My suggestion? The Social Security Administration should pass off its tax on youth and employment as a" contribution," and disguise the welfare for the elderly program as a"trust fund." That way, younger workers would be tricked into thinking they're contributing to their own retirem...

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Max Swing - 1/27/2005

Why doesn't anyone compile a compendium of such "Doublespeak" words in politics and sells it to the public?
I think there is certainly a market, because people tend to believe things from authority, especially when they don't posses the knowledge to form their own opinion. This is extremely true in regard to politics.

Everyone can distinguish that cigarettes are cigarettes and not apples or lighters. But when it comes to abstract concepts while conjuring a moral imperativ, they tend to believe it because it sounds nice and good.
They believe the concept without any factual knowledge about the topic and as long as the government has this issues in their hand, many people won't even considering getting in touch with the facts.