Posted on 11/11/2013 5:39:56 AM PST by iowamark
For anyone interested in the politics of left and right -- and in political journalism as it is practiced at the highest level -- George Orwell's works are indispensable. This week, in the year marking the 110th anniversary of his birth, we present a personal list of his five greatest essays.
The winner and still champ, Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" stands as the finest deconstruction of slovenly writing since Mark Twain's "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses."
Orwell's essay, published in 1946 in Cyril Connolly's literary review Horizon, is not as sarcastic or funny as Twain's, but unlike Twain, Orwell makes the connection between degraded language and political deceit (at both ends of the political spectrum).
"The word Fascism has now no meaning except in so far as it signifies 'something not desirable,' he writes, then points a finger at words like democracy, socialism, freedom, patriotic, realistic and justice.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
TFS> IMHO, I R8 Orwell a CWOT.
WDALHIC? MEGO. ICBW!
Qrwell was quick to draw a line from our grasp or our own language and our ability to think. Hence the battle to control the meaning of words used in argumentation and debate. If one side or another can define they can control, Hello 1984!
“...A mass of Latin words falls upon the facts like soft snow, blurring the outline and covering up all the details. “
This sentence perfectly describes political speech.
Bump for later.
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