warspeak

warspeak

Posted May 23, 2003 17:41 UTC (Fri) by xoddam (subscriber, #2322)
In reply to: warspeak by fpahl
Parent article: The Open Group on UNIX trademark

Yes, felix, I share your view.

It's widely acknowledged (in the Jargon File, for instance)
that public pronouncements in the USA tend to be far to the
political right of most of the rest of the world, and that
the news media are less critical of the biggest policy
decisions in the USA than in other countries.

It's also widely acknowledged (throughout the non-Murdoch
press in Britain for example) that British public discourse
has been heading the way of the USA for 25 years or so.

It is not coincidental that these two countries are the
unprovoked agressors in the recent war, and responsible
for the grossest flouting of international law, to the
extent that the strongest peace treaty of all time is now
unenforceable. It's very, very valid to point out how
the use of language of one kind or another in a pervasive
way makes it easier to pull the wool over peoples' eyes.

When the public practise of religion, for instance, involves
regular readings of ancient texts which proclaim that a
particular race of people is responsible for the death of
one of God's relatives, it's quite easy to whip the public
into a frenzy of hatred against that race and to close their
eyes when millions are enslaved, deported and murdered.

On the other hand, suppose that in another country the public
practice of religion prefers to read ancient texts which
proclaim that a particular race is the chosen of God and the
rightful inheritors of a particular piece of ground. It's then
very easy for public figures to justify to the public massive
military funding and consistent diplomatic support against all
other countries of a state which promotes itself as embodying
that race.

In my experience religious people are a bit funny about this
sort of thing, as are people who are exposed to the same kind
of talk in a less worshipful but equally pervasive setting,
like a paper or TV programme they watch semi-religiously.
They're quite liable to accuse anyone who challenges their
assumptions of 'political correctness' and the like. Where
did I put my asbestos suit?....

Jonathan

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