My So-Called Tip

Teaching Elephants to Talk Tip
By Matt Lewis
Jan. 19, 2005

In his novel 1984, George Orwell describes “Newspeak,” a modified language using ambiguous or deceptive words, metaphors, or euphemisms to influence public opinion. Luckily, we don’t live in Orwell’s world. But in today’s media-savvy political environment every word matters.

Liberals learned a long time ago that if you change the name of something, you also change the connotation of it. That’s why pro-abortion activists call themselves “pro-choice” -- a national pro-gay group calls itself the “Human Rights Campaign” -- and it’s why the term “liberal” seems to have been replaced by the word “progressive.”

Sadly, it works because few of us take the time to study the details. (The average American spends just 7 minutes a week thinking about politics.) And most of us still believe in truth in advertising.

The danger, of course, is that by repeating these innocuous-sounding names, you and I are actually working to reinforce our opponents’ goals. Smart politicians avoid this pitfall by simply adding the term “so-called” in front of the misleading name.

Here’s how it works:

• The so-called “pro-choice” movement – Pro-Life Groups
• President Clinton’s so-called “assault weapons” ban – Republicans (Conservatives even went so far as to re-name it the “Clinton gun ban.”)
• The so-called “Freedom to Farm Bill” – Democrat Congressmen

This is very simple, but you’d be surprised how many conservatives fail to utilize it. Don’t let the liberals frame the issue by defining the language.