Login/Join

Deceptive Political Language

Discussion
Nov 18, 2009
by: CMoser
Channels

     In his essay, “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell writes about the corruption of the English language, but especially the deterioration of candor displayed in political speech.  While I should note that I do not agree with the idea that all political language is deceptive, I do believe that a lot of what the citizens are fed on a daily basis from news corporations and political figures is fallacious.  When Orwell wrote this essay, everyday people were not easily able to become politically aware.  Now thanks to the World Wide Web and the general media, people are receiving all sorts of political news constantly that most would believe to be true.  Lately, with the healthcare debate, it seems that we have been bombarded with information, some true, yet most false.  Both the Republicans and the Democrats are guilty of lying and making insincere comments.  

     Just this past year, for example, Betsy McCaughey, a former Republican lieutenant governor of New York, wrote in article that the national government could actually dictate how much care doctors could provide for their individual patients.  This claim, consequently, spread like wildfire through emails and through Republican press conferences.   However, this claim is completely false, which can easily be seen from this statement from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which is a government-funded research program.

"Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the Council to mandate coverage, reimbursement, or other policies for any public or private payer. … None of the reports submitted under this section or recommendations made by the Council shall be construed as mandates or clinical guidelines for payment, coverage, or treatment." American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

 
     The Republican party was able to use fear and intimidation to create a political frenzy, which spread very fast throughout many citizens, something that Orwell warned against.  The Investor's Business Daily included an article a statement that said that H.R. 3200 would make private insurance illegal.  The problem is that the writers  only took this piece of information from a certain part of the bill .  However the bill actually states this:

" H.R. 3200: Subject to the succeeding provisions of this section, for purposes of establishing acceptable coverage under this division, the term “grandfathered health insurance coverage” means individual health insurance coverage that is offered and in force and effect before the first day of Y1 if the following conditions are met." FactCheck.org

In other words, citizens may still buy their own healthcare, if they so choose.  If they desire to purchase their own new healthcare play, however, they must purchase it through a government-run health insurance exhange.  The Republican party was able to unnerve American citizens by basically lying.  In the latter example, they were able to build upon one specific section of the Healthcare Bill and put their own spin on it.  The Republicans were also able to create an alarm by creating falsehoods and an unnecessary panic, especially through the use of words, such as "death panel" and "bureaucrats."  However, the Democrats are also guilty of making some misleading statements, as well.
 
     While running in the political election of 2008, President Obama stated a few times that he would be able to save families around $2,500 in the following years.  However, a statement from the Congressional Budget Office actually states that this is somewhat false.
"CBO: [E]xperts generally agree that changes in government policy have the potential to significantly reduce health care spending—for the nation as a whole and for the federal government in particular—without harming people’s health. However, achieving large reductions in projected spending would require fundamental changes in the financing and delivery of health care." Congressional Budget Office
In other words, most money involved in the healthcare bill would save money primarily for the federal government.  Drastic measures would need to be taken in order to increase citizens' savings considerably.  President Obama made some very nice promises on the campaign trail, but, unfortunately, most families will not save $2,500 in the upcoming year or so.
 
     George Orwell's conception that political language is bad language is largely true, with some exceptions, as can be seen everyday in the extensive HealthCare debate.  In order to avoid being conned by a politician, Americans should be on the defensive, making sure to be extremely cautious with political statements.