29 June 2011

Use the Power of Language

I was reading recent posts on The Gormogons' site today, and this one by GhettoPuter got me thinking about the terms we use.

I realize that the media have to a large degree established a standard vocabulary for political discussion, and it's easy to use that familiar vocabulary. However, I advocate breaking free of the warped definitions they promote.

I'd like to suggest that we stop using the word "government" at all. What we really mean by that is usually one of two things: either the State Bureaucratic Apparatus (SBA), or the people of the United States. (After all, as my former boss likes to say, we are the government.)

Therefore, when referring to the agencies who execute the powers of government, I suggest using the word "bureaucracy", if not "SBA". When referring to who pays for the execution of those powers, including sending checks to beneficiaries of subsidies and social programs, I suggest the phrase "the rest of us."

For instance, the phrase "it's the non-taxpayers who receive government benefits" would become "it's the non-taxpayers who receive benefits from the rest of us." The later paragraph about "government-run economies" would instead speak of "SBA-run economies".

One advantage of using "SBA" would be its connotation of a gargantuan, unresponsive, corrupt, heartless entity. An advantage of using "the rest of us" would be to drive home the fact that it is each and every one of us who do not receive more than we pay, who are paying for that "more" going to those who do.

Now could you all just go back and edit all your blog posts to conform to these suggestions? I'd really appreciate it.

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