When you write a check to the IRS, is that charity? According to UK-based philosopher Alain de Botton, that’s what we should call taxes, because the word “tax” is “colorless, odorless and offensive.” Yes, he’s really serious.
Modern political language seems to be intended to conceal the truth rather than make facts clear. It’s no wonder that nobody can agree about what’s going on when almost everybody is busy redefining words to mean what he wants them to mean — in order to make a point.
For instance, in normal conversation, if you say that someone’s budget has been cut, those words have a specific meaning. The money in the budget is something less than it was before. In politics, though, it can mean something altogether different. A “budget cut” might mean that a budget went up — not down — but that the rate of increase wasn’t as much as had been previously planned.
This language is dishonest, and its intent is to conceal the fact that real overall budgets are almost never cut. Politicians can claim to have cut budgets, even though spending still goes up.
Cult’s targeting of family funeral points to folly of speaking for God
How could a stranger at sunset possibly know what I had to say?
Conservatives have lost their way as few defend individual freedom
Bumper sticker politics expresses anger, but what does it achieve?
What if emotional baggage we carry isn’t really our core issue?
Facebook leads to marriage for couple whose love never died
Regain your sanity by focusing only on things you can control
Radical Muslim effort to stop speech points to risks of multiculturalism
My mother was more impressive than my father led me to believe