Whoever Controls the Language Controls the Debate
If you can control the language, you can control ideas. By controlling ideas, you can control the way people think and act. Before Frank Schaeffer went over to the Dark Side, he had some good things to say about how liberals think and act. His analysis of language is still applicable: “Think of the use of labels to categorize political activity. Some labels are used to neutralize the actions of certain groups; others denote being ‘one of us,’ acceptable. The words ‘right wing,’ ‘fundamentalist,’ ‘pro-life,’ ‘absolutist,’ and ‘deeply religious,’ are put-downs more than categories. Conversely, think of the unspoken pat on the back and blessing that the following words convey: ‘moderate,’ ‘pluralistic,’ ‘liberal,’ ‘civil libertarian,’ ‘pragmatic,’ and ‘enlightened.”1
Consider the following list:
|
LIBERAL |
CONSERVATIVE |
|
Arsenal of Weapons |
Gun Collection |
|
Delicate Wetlands |
Swamp |
|
Undocumented Worker |
Illegal Alien |
|
Cruelty-Free Materials |
Synthetic Fiber |
|
Assault and Battery |
Attitude Adjustment |
|
Heavily Armed |
Well-protected |
|
Narrow-minded |
Righteous |
|
Taxes or Your Fair Share |
Coerced Theft |
|
Commonsense Gun Control |
Gun Confiscation Plot |
|
Illegal Hazardous Explosives |
Fireworks or Stump Removal |
|
Non-viable Tissue Mass |
Unborn Baby |
|
Equal Access to Opportunity |
Socialism |
|
Multicultural Community |
High Crime Area |
|
Fairness or Social Progress |
Marxism |
|
Upper Class or “The Rich” |
Self-Employed |
|
Progressive, Change |
Big Government Scheme |
|
Homeless or Disadvantaged |
Bums on Welfare & Leeches |
|
Sniper Rifle |
Deer Rifle with scope |
|
Investment For the Future |
Higher Taxes |
|
Healthcare Reform |
Socialized Medicine |
|
Extremist, Judgmental, or Hater |
Conservative |
|
Truants |
Homeschoolers |
|
Victim or Oppressed |
Criminal or Lazy Good-For-Nothing |
|
High Capacity Magazine |
Standard Capacity Magazine |
|
Religious Zealot |
Attends Church |
|
Fair Trade Coffee |
Overpriced Yuppie Coffee |
|
Exploiters or “The Rich” |
Employed or Land Owner |
|
The Gun Lobby |
NRA Members |
|
Assault Weapon |
Semi-Automatic Handgun |
|
Fiscal Stimulus |
New Taxes and Higher Taxes |
|
Same Sex Marriage |
Legalized Perversion |
|
Mandated Eco-Friendly Lighting |
Chinese Mercury-Laden Light Bulbs |
|
Accepted Fact |
Horse Shit |
- Franky Schaeffer, A Time for Anger: The Myth of Neutrality (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1982), 15. [↩]
