jaylar
George Orwell, the author of Nineteen Eighty Four recognised that by limiting language one limits thought.
If you do not have the words for a concept, you can’t think of it. By removing words, by limiting language, thought is constrained.
Consider today, the kind of language being used by the American President.
Simple words, with little meaning, repeated, over and again. The depth of an idea, the complexity of an event is made ‘Bad’ or ‘Good’ without explanation. If one obeys him they do so without question or understanding, because nothing is spelled out.
Limit speech, limit thought. Limiting thought makes people easier to control. Repeat the same words over and again, saying virtually nothing, exposing no facts, and the public, with it’s curtailed ability to think can not respond, only do what they are told.
That is a very perceptive analysis, both of the message of 1984 and the character of Donald Trump!
We have had a good measure of that in the UK, with phrases like “Brexit means Brexit” and “Get Brexit done” being rammed down our throats with little or no explanation of what they actually mean in practice. You will find any number of voters repeating the latter – which has been the Conservative Party’s mantra throughout the General Election campaign – and sincerely believing that a vote for the Tories will make it happen in double-quick time. We shall see!
The votes are being cast today and the counting starts in around six hours time. I shall be counting some of them myself!
I felt that Brexit was inspired by Merkle’s demand that every member take X number of refugees. Instead of saying, ‘no’, and letting the E.U. figure out how to deal with a ‘rebel’, they went to Brexit without thinking it through.
That’s a not a reason I’ve seen expressed before. My own view is that it boils down to traditional British distrust of “foreigners”, even though we need workers from other countries to staff our hospitals and pick our crops. I’ve heard people saying “we’re overrun by immigrants” even in places where there is scarcely an immigrant to be seen!
If Caricom told Jamaica they would have to do ABC we’d withdraw. It’s a simple knee jerk. Merkle gave her ‘order’ and Britain said, ‘you are not the boss of us.’