1946,1984, and Today

George Orwell's paper on "Politics and the English "Language" Mr. Orwell wrote a great paper about the destruction of the English Language. I wanted to quote the whole thing, but I think this one passage sums it up:

Many political words are similarly abused. The word Fascism has now no meaning except in so far as it signifies "something not desirable." The words democracy, socialism, freedom, patriotic, realistic, justice have each of them several different meanings which cannot be reconciled with one another. In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it: consequently the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using that word if it were tied down to any one meaning. Words of this kind are often used in a consciously dishonest way. That is, the person who uses them has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite different. Statements like Marshal Pétain was a true patriot, The Soviet press is the freest in the world, The Catholic Church is opposed to persecution, are almost always made with intent to deceive. Other words used in variable meanings, in most cases more or less dishonestly, are: class, totalitarian, science, progressive, reactionary, bourgeois, equality.

The general tilt of the paper is that people use big words to hide their true feelings on a subject and to make themselves feel smarter, and superior, to the unwashed masses. He also states it is a way for leaders and politicians to hide their real intent. Go, read, and follow his rules at the end of the paper.