In this enlightened age of political correctness there has been a push to cleanse our language to ensure no one is offended. Watering down language and introducing new words for old ideas seems to be most common among those on the left. Since the idea of socialism lost favour, the left now like to refer to themselves as progressives. The small ‘l’ liberal ideal of individual freedom has now morphed into quite the opposite meaning: more state control and collectivism.
Raymond Ibriham writes in Words Matter in the War on Terror:
Knowledge is inextricably linked to language. The less accurate words are, the less accurate the knowledge they impart; conversely, the more precise the language, the more precise the knowledge. In the war on terror, to acquire accurate knowledge — which is pivotal to victory — we need to begin with accurate language.
Now, don’t get me starting on the term human rights.
Update: We can also add global warming to the list of language being cleansed. Hat tip to Kate.
