We use our eyes to see the world, but language is what helps shape our perceptions of how we view the world.
Nowhere is this better illustrated than in politics.
And if you want to twist the way people think about their most immediate surroundings and how they are governed, the Republicans have adopted some tricks that would have made George Orwell’s Big Brother envious.
This can be done by manipulating language. The Republicans are not above calling pollution “clean air” or raising the minimum wage or taxing corporations “class warfare” or advising the terminally ill about their options through “death panels.” Republicans have also demonized words, such as, “community organizer” and “welfare” as part of a code to stigmatize parts of the population.
And in this clip, it is all spelled out on FOX News, the unquestioning and main beneficiary of the Republican’s propaganda wars.
This is a video clip that should be mandatory viewing in any Journalism 101 class.
Come to think of it, the clip should also be viewed by journalism professionals, so they don’t get taken in by fast-talking politicians who just ignore any tough questions without even pausing to seriously respond.
Here is how do they do it courtesy of Jon Stewart.
