April 09, 2003 at 12:45 PM
Patriotism defined and George Orwell’s excellent article “Politics and the English Language”
I was talking to a friend the other day about an essay he wrote on the topic of patriotism and its meaning. He was most interested in how the emotional weight of that word was being used to further political agendas without regard for specific meaning. I really enjoyed the article he wrote about it (which can be found here).
In my response I asked "I wonder what your thoughts are on why we aren't presented that kind of perspective in the media?"
He referred me to Orwell's essay which includes the great quote:
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.
