Minding Your Language

Putting a few words together is never easy. Even at the best of times and in the best hands words come only with difficulty. Stringing them together to express a thought coherently sometimes feels like herding cats.

But we do not live in the best times; and things are not even normal. Just by the mere act of thinking an idea puts one on a collision course with the thought-control police. And actually verbalizing a thought openly could well expose one to the charge of purveying “Fake News”, a term beloved of the current leader of the Free World.

Thus, anyone playing with words or trying to use them, in these near-dystopian times also plays with fire. This applies not just to the amateur but, as well, to the professional who makes a living using words as an everyday commodity, contributing to or putting together a newspaper or magazine, whether print or digital. The living that such an individual makes depends on how much credibility their organization has. People who buy or “consume” the product do so with the confidence that they are getting a genuine article, the real deal. If the product is wanting or faulty, it loses value and likely, market share as well, just as any other commodity or service would in the marketplace. Definitely “not good”, as Mr Trump would say. Consequently, our conscientious dealer in words has to be sure that their source is impeccable and that any of their ideas or opinions are well-founded. Even so, the accusation of “fake news” can be quite destructive and difficult to shake, descending into a question of “he said, she said”...

Fair enough, you might be prepared to concede and then roll up your sleeves and join the rough and tumble in the market place of ideas. But it seems the rules have changed even more profoundly. In recent days and indeed, as we speak, we hear that the Trump administration has signalled prohibition on the use of certain words. To communicate with, not only his highness the President, but with his courtiers too, certain words are to be avoided. We hear, for example, that, to speak to authority, the CDC is having to mind its p’s and q’s and avoid certain words in order to maintain ideological purity. Now, the CDC, the Centres for Disease Control of America is one of that nation’s most venerable institutions. It is a department of the US government that has, over many years sought to find ways and means of controlling the spread of diseases in the country. And, as would be obvious to anyone, controlling disease in one country also means that spread to the rest of the world is curbed. This is critically important work that benefits all. The CDC tackles other diseases and conditions as well: if it afflicts humanity, they are there to reduce the potential impact. They collect the data; they study the human condition, from fetus to the grave, and their findings provide the evidence that is needed to make policy and guide decisions about best practice in prevention and control.

To get their message to us, the general public, and to those who provide the money for their work, the CDC have to use plain language, the kind of language that we all can understand; like “evidence”, “science-based”, “fetus”, “diversity”, “entitlement”, etc. But now, we hear, they have to avoid using words such as these for fear of annoying someone in authority. I should say though, that I myself have not seen the original story of this new word-avoidance strategy, reportedly published by the The Washington Post, newspaper. Rather paradoxical. The Post’s paywall bars me from reading their story, a move that introduces another layer of irony into a landscape that is already riddled with ironies. True, there are no free lunches and The Post is not obliged to hand me a freebie, even though it’s almost Christmas and though they are making a point about impediments to information flow, about which they and we are supposed to care.

But hey, this is the season of goodwill to all men (and women too) and I, for one, will not stint words in wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a 2018 that is free of pestilence and other distempers.

Tell Fren Tru