Why Orwell’s Essay “Politics and the English Language” Is Relevant Today More Than Ever

“In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics.’ All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia. When the general atmosphere is bad, language must suffer.“

Language is one of the most important parts of any civilization. It provides a foundation for communication and development. Today, political correctness is peaking and clashing with our society.

Make no mistake, the aims of this PC agenda are to debase our language and coerce people into censoring themselves for fear of punishment or being ostracized.

There is also a concerted effort to appropriate and pervert words that justify a means to an end. At this point, it is not inaccurate to say, that when most people talk of** “Racists” or “Nazis"**, they are talking about WHITES.

Also, notice how calls for “diversity” only occur in WHITE societies. No one in the Middle East, Africa, or even Asia calls for more “diversity”, even though these places could probably benefit from it, especially Africa.

The changes in our lexicon have been working, slowly and insidiously ever since the advent of Cultural Marxism, which is only slightly different from the Political/Economic Marxism which most are familiar with; the end goal is still the same, a repugnant and controlled society- the destruction of any semblance of an “individual”.

“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. "

Instead of the Bourgeoisie, today we hear “White Supremacist”, “Nazi”, “Bigot”, “Racist”, etc. Of course, anyone could be racist, except that the definition most of the useful idiots on the left refer to is: racism= privilege + power. Only Whites can have privilege, and they are “in power”. Quite the cyclical logic if you think about it.

Let’s look at an excerpt from Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language”

“The word FASCISM has now no meaning except in so far as it signifies ‘something not desirable.’ The words DEMOCRACY, SOCIALISM, FREEDOM, PATRIOTIC, REALISTIC, JUSTICE, have each of them several different meanings which cannot be reconciled with one another. In the case of a word like DEMOCRACY, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it: consequently the defenders of every kind of régime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using the word if it were tied down to any one meaning. Words of this kind are often used in a consciously dishonest way. That is, the person who uses them has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite different. Statements like MARSHAL PÉTAIN WAS A TRUE PATRIOT, THE SOVIET PRESS IS THE FREEST IN THE WORLD, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS OPPOSED TO PERSECUTION, are almost always made with intent to deceive. Other words used in variable meanings, in most cases more or less dishonestly, are: CLASS, TOTALITARIAN, SCIENCE, PROGRESSIVE, REACTIONARY BOURGEOIS, EQUALITY.”

This is apparent today; most people would probably equate fascism with evil and democracy with good, without even the slightest inquiry as to what sort of democratic or fascist political systems are in question.

Cries of regime change, and spreading democracy or freedom have been parroted constantly, even before, but especially at the turn of the 21st century.

“Now that I have made this catalogue of swindles and perversions, let me give another example of the kind of writing that they lead to. This time it must of its nature be an imaginary one. I am going to translate a passage of good English into modern English of the worst sort. Here is a well-known verse from ECCLESIASTES:

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth.”

Here it is in modern English:

“Objective consideration of contemporary phenomena compels the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.”

The example above is a bit of exaggeration, but that’s the point. Anyone who went to a four-year university would be well acquainted with the choice of words in the modified Bible passage; in fact, it is something that could be worked into any research or report you might find in the Humanities Department.

What’s most troubling, is that the state of language we live in today is what Orwell warned us about.

“The whole tendency of modern prose is away from concreteness. Now analyze these two sentences a little more closely. The first contains 49 words but only 60 syllables, and all its words are those of everyday life. The second contains 38 words of 90 syllables: 18 of its words are from Latin roots, and one from Greek. The first sentence contains six vivid images, and only one phrase (“time and chance”) that could be called vague. The second contains not a single fresh, arresting phrase, and in spite of its 90 syllables it gives only a shortened version of the meaning contained in the first. Yet without a doubt it is the second kind of sentence that is gaining ground in modern English.“

The prefabricated newspeak that plagues our language is killing our society.

Bastardizing language creates a ripple effect, by interacting with everything else that uses language. Words can be like bullets or poison. They can build us up or break us down. It is foolish to underestimate the psychosomatic effects of language. Which it is why we need to be more cognizant about “self-talk” if that is not a positive thing, how can one be a positive force for others?

“As I have tried to show, modern writing at its worst does not consist in picking out words for the sake of their meaning and inventing images in order to make the meaning clearer. It consists in gumming together long strips of words which have already been set in order by someone else, and making the results presentable by sheer humbug. The attraction of this way of writing, is that it is easy. It is easier–even quicker, once you have the habit–to say IN MY OPINION IT IS A NOT UNJUSTIFIABLE ASSUMPTION THAT than to say I THINK. “

When you don’t have to think about what it is you are actually saying, you don’t have to think anymore, and when you don’t have to think, it retards the brain.

The Elites control us primarily through language. When people learn how to write in school, they do it for grades, good grades. Students might not get a good grade if they don’t parrot the “beliefs” spewed by the instructor.

Without good grades, students miss out on opportunities such as scholarships, even the most basic feeling of accomplishment. Students writing solid papers might not get full credit because of their views or arguments, but what is most daunting, possibly, is the wrath of angry parents.

Most children are susceptible to brainwashing through this tactic. If they don’t repeat what teacher says, they don’t get good grades, if they are getting good grades, they must be right, right?

“They will construct your sentences for you–even think your thoughts for you, to a certain extent-and at need they will perform the important service of partially concealing your meaning even from yourself. It is at this point that the special connection between politics and the debasement of language becomes clear.“

A child’s early education cements the worldview which constructs the matrix we all live in- a monstrosity that feeds on itself.

“But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.“

Once they are past a certain point, they are trapped in a pit, comfortable and secure, too scared to climb out of the darkness into the light because the darkness is all they know.

“A speaker who uses that kind of phraseology has gone some distance towards turning himself into a machine. The appropriate noises are coming out of his larynx, but his brain is not involved as it would be if he were choosing his words for himself. If the speech he is making is one that he is accustomed to make over and over again, he may be almost unconscious of what he is saying, as one is when one utters the responses in church. And this reduced state of consciousness, if not indispensable, is at any rate favorable to political conformity.“

It is no surprise the brainwashing occurs at our most vulnerable and malleable state. Words like Fascist, Nazi, or Holocaust are all programmed in our minds to elicit negative reactions and shut down the logical portion of our brain when we encounter these words.

This is probably more apparent now than ever, with lots of compelling evidence that contradicts the narrative schoolchildren swallow, most won’t even give it a fair chance because “all nazis are bad people” and “the Holocaust was SO bad haven’t you seen Schindler’s List?”

This narrative was carefully crafted as evidenced by Orwell’s observations:

” By this morning’s post I have received a pamphlet dealing with conditions in Germany. The author tells me that he “felt impelled” to write it. I open it at random, and here is almost the first sentence that I see: “[The Allies] have an opportunity not only of achieving a radical transformation of Germany’s social and political structure in such a way as to avoid a nationalistic reaction in Germany itself, but at the same time of laying the foundations of a cooperative and unified Europe.” You see, he “feels impelled” to write–feels, presumably, that he has something new to say–and yet his words, like cavalry horses answering the bugle, group themselves automatically into the familiar dreary pattern. This invasion of one’s mind by ready-made phrases (LAY THE FOUNDATIONS, ACHIEVE A RADICAL TRANSFORMATION) can only be prevented if one is constantly on guard against them, and every such phrase anesthetizes a portion of one’s brain.”

Orwell succinctly points out that most of the phrases are pre-packaged to push an agenda, what we see described above is the blueprint for the European Union. The Elite can’t have those pesky Germans interested in nationalism and sticking up for themselves now, can they?

70 years later we see the effects of this on Germany. Germany, a bastion of science, philosophy, art, culture, and delicious pork sausage, is all hanging in the balance as millions of subhumans storm through Europe to leech off the great society Germans built, while many, but not all, either stand by or invite the invaders in.

“One need not swallow such absurdities as this, but one ought to recognize that the present political chaos is connected with the decay of language, and that one can probably bring about some improvement by starting at the verbal end. If you simplify your English, you are freed from the worst follies of orthodoxy. ”

One of the strongest and most recent examples of the above paragraph, and this is in no way an endorsement, is President Trumps 2015-16 campaign.

Many news outlets attacked Trump saying “he talks like a fourth-grader.” What does this mean though? What is means, is that a candidate finally came out and tried to speak to the people so they could understand and resonate with what was said, and reach as many people as possible. Basically, the media is complaining that Trump was not using prefabricated and sterile newspeak that helps hold the matrix in place. The typical political newspeak is only there to confuse or virtue signal to the voter- charlatans with silver tongues whispering sweet nothings into our ears.

When Trump stated things like: building a wall, banning Muslims, using the term “radical Islamic terrorism”- something absent from the previous eight years, he was able to break free from the constraints placed upon him by the political dialect.

It is also worth noting that no other candidate took this approach and remained steadfast to the canned partisan talking points people are so sick of hearing, and Trump didn’t back down when confronted. This is a large reason why Trump was so successful. By shedding the language and common delivery of talking points every politician adheres too, Trump separated himself and rose above the other dozen or so candidates.

Let’s not forget, that Trump is, was, an actor on reality television and if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Political language, is still political language, after all.

“Political language-and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists–is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. “

This essay really isn’t about Trump though, but how these changes in our lexicon are quite evident. Regardless of Trump’s successes as a President, his campaign helped shift the dialect out of the Elite’s control, if only just for a minute, it will be up to the rest of us to make sure it doesn’t devolve again.

Orwell’s observation 70 years ago are very relevant to the state of affairs today. With the exception of these last few years, it was very common for people to self-censor, but this is changing, as others speak up, it gives courage to others to speak up as well.

The only way to counter newspeak is to speak your mind and not back down. Nobody respects a coward. We must become more cognizant of the words we use every day if we wish to break free from the conditioning.