The Changing Meanings of Words and Political Correctness

Two things bother me the most about liberal doctrine. The first, which I have often mentioned in my column, is the fact that liberals hold a double standard - one for themselves and one for the rest of the world. According to them, this double standard is not hypocrisy, since liberalism is founded on post-modern deconstructionism, and does not hold to the ideals of absolute truths. (Hence the double standard: one hand can hold to an absolute, such as "protecting" women's rights, while the other hand can condemn non-liberal women with absolute clarity of thought.)

The other thing that bothers me about liberal doctrine is its ability to change words to mean whatever is currently politically correct. In fact, the entire culture of political correctness rests on defining and redefining words to correspond to the ever-changing faces of modern liberal dogma.

Take, for example, a headline from a local newspaper I read today: "Schools hesitate to use the word 'closures'." Public schools have, for awhile now, been the breeding ground of modern liberalism, using the bully pulpit to indoctrinate our children into the priesthood of the believers. Now our state schools are faced with a dilemma - decreasing enrollment and decreasing funds. These conditions necessitate closing and combining several public schools.

So what's the problem? Any business in the world will tell you that when economic times get rough, the business has to cut expenses. Public schools, on the other hand, are supposed to be ever expanding bastions of the people's children...and money. So when the economy requires that we reduce spending, schools (as any government bureaucracy), will make any excuse to keep its money, then, failing that, attempt to protect its status by redefining words.

In this case, the public school board is now "repurposing" the schools, not closing them. Can there be anything sillier than masking the problems of the public school system by making up a word that masks the true problems the schools face?

Yet, liberal doctrine dictates that any problems with the failing liberal system be masked in order to avoid confronting the real issues. In this case, how does "repurposing" a school help understand the problem causing schools to close?

This is the doublespeak of the left, masking real ideas, and real solutions, by redefining words, and in many cases, making up new words to hide failure.

Hence, liberals can fling around the word "equality," having successfully, at least in the minds of many Americans, redefined it to mean "social justice." "Social justice," in turn, masks the socialist ideal of destroying the free market and the rule of law, in favor of a "fairer" command economy and protected classes.

"Gay marriage" masks the purpose of thousands of years of state licensing of marriages, to protect the legal status of children in those marriages which produce them. "The rich," becomes a point of contention, masking the socialist ideals of pitting the proletariat against the bourgeoisie, in order to stress society into a revolution. In a similar vein, the word "liberty" is stricken from modern usage (replaced with "freedom"), since liberty means being free from the oppressive restrictions of government. (Can there be a more accurate word at odds with modern liberalism's statist ideals?)

Why is liberal doublespeak a problem? Part of solving real-world problems is being able to discuss them and to bring new ideas to the table. Modern liberalism has become ossified in its doctrine, truly unable to see, let alone discuss, any ideas which are not blessed by its high priests and priestesses. Any attempt at honest discourse and disagreement is met with vehement antagonism, equaled only by the most radical of religious zealots.

Becoming aware of how modern liberals change language to suit themselves and their own peculiar worldview is a start toward honest discourse. The rest is up to us who are not blinded by doctrinal politics. It's not enough to recognize liberal doublespeak, we must also stand up to it and insist that arguments be made an won on the time-tested standards of truth and rational thought - not on "repurposed" language.