Ignorance is Strength
In yet another effort to simultaneously move us closer and take us back to “1984”, the current administration is making changes to the language of some federal agencies. There are good reasons for it, but it does reinforce the fact that there are highly paid federal employees in this administration with nothing better to do to fill their workdays.
It feels like we’re not that far off everyone in the country getting mailed letters from the government detailing what words can and can’t be used in public and/or electronically transmitted conversations. All hail Oceania!
Federal agencies, including the State Department, the Homeland Security Department and the National Counterterrorism Center, are telling their people not to describe Islamic extremists as “jihadists” or “mujahedeen,” according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Such verbiage as “Islamo-fascism” is out, too.
The reason: Such words may actually boost support for radicals among Arab and Muslim audiences by giving them a veneer of religious credibility or by causing offense to moderates.
I wonder if my office would consider drafting up a letter of terms that are no longer to be used in the office. First on the list would be conversate, followed by verbiage and expert. I really hate that last one, since anytime you’re called an expert it usually means that someone’s about to give you some work.
