"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."
Friday, April 24, 2009
Friday Philosophy
I guess that-- given how my thoughts have turned to the political machinations of the recent administration in relation to their embrace of torture-- it was inevitable that I would be put in mind of the work of George Orwell (1903-1950). This is from his book Politics and the English Language:
"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."
"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."
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2 comments:
Dr John,
So if we cannot trust ANY political party (per Mr Orwell) what happens next?
Lil' Sis
Lil Sis,
One possibility is to do away with parties. The founding fathers were against them, and for good reason. They serve a purpose, but it is a purpose that comes at great cost to the independent thought of the individual citizen. If we can't get rid of them, then the members need to make them accountable, but it's a longshot that that would ever happen. Another option is to breed more parties, so that whoever ends up ruling can only do so by building constructive ties with other factions. That's the way it works in some other countries. But we're probably too wedded to the notion of two-party rule to see any significant change.
Dr. John
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