OPINION:
Language matters. The words we choose to say (or not) expose our core selves.
George Orwell knew this all too well. His seminal work “1984” includes an entirely new language construct, Newspeak, designed to deceive, as well a slew of prescient quotes, like “It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of language” and “Don’t you see the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?”
Democrats know this well, too. Under the guise of inclusivity and equality, liberals have been trying for decades to control language.
Don’t believe me? Take this: “For African Americans, if you say ‘low-hanging fruit,’ we think lynching,” Mae Hicks-Jones, an adjunct faculty member of Elgin Community College in Illinois, said in an event titled “Black Lives Matter: Being ‘Not Racist’ is NOT enough.” And this: “Kill two birds with one stone” — a term that originated in China in the 1600s — is too violent and should be replaced with “feed two birds with one scone,” Anna Taylor, a communications director and “diversity, equity and inclusion champion” at technology company Phenomenex, wrote in a guide for employees.
The media also play a role in the destruction of language, following every whim from the liberal intelligentsia as they dumb down the world’s vocabulary. No outlet has been more egregious than The Associated Press, which catalogs language in its AP Stylebook, the traditional stylistic handbook journalists have used for decades.
The AP Stylebook tells people to “change ‘pro-life’ to ‘anti-abortion,’” the once-venerated wire service said in a stylebook update in 2017. So, to AP, there’s “pro-choice” and “anti-abortion” — not “pro-life.” AP also tells writers to use “militant,” “lone wolf” or “attacker” instead of “Islamist terrorist.” And in one of its most inane style rulings, the wire service directs “journalists” to say “undocumented immigrant” instead of “illegal alien.”
Now, AP has decided not to call the “Gulf of Mexico” the “Gulf of America,” as President Trump declared in an executive order. Yet earlier this week, Google Maps began using “Gulf of America,” saying it had a “long-standing practice” of following the U.S. government’s lead on such matters.
Not AP. “The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years,” an updated Stylebook entry says. “Refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen.” As the AP Stylebook notes, “Trump’s order only carries authority within the United States. Mexico, as well as other countries and international bodies, do not have to recognize the name change.”
But there are plenty of examples of dual naming. For instance, the waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula is known as the “Persian Gulf” in some places and the “Arabian Gulf” in others. The body of water bordering South Korea and Japan is known as the “Sea of Japan” and the “East Sea.” The idea is simple: Respect the cultural nuances of different nations.
The White House on Tuesday put its foot down, barring an AP reporter from entering an Oval Office event. The media went ballistic. “It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism,” said Julie Pace, senior vice president and executive editor of The Associated Press. “Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of the AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment.”
It’s too late; the chickens have come home to roost. Under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon has exiled eight news organizations from their workstations, including NPR, The New York Times, NBC News, CNN and The Washington Post. The same thing went down at the White House. In her first briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the president wants to allow “new media” outlets, and plans are reportedly underway for a full overhaul of the briefing room.
AP, as well as the rest of the liberal media, just don’t get it: Elections have consequences. And Ms. Leavitt said it best when she called out the press.
“We know for a fact there have been lies that have been pushed by many legacy media outlets in this country about this president, about his family, and we will not accept that,” she told reporters. “We will call you out when we feel that your reporting is wrong or there is misinformation about this White House.”
Or, in some cases, ban you from coming into the room in the first place.
• Joseph Curl covered the White House and politics for a decade for The Washington Times. He can be reached at josephcurl@gmail.com and on Twitter @josephcurl.
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