Political Correctness: Weaponizing Language

Progressives are winning the culture war by seizing and weaponizing language. The best example is abortion. Leftists contort themselves into pretzels to avoid uttering the word abortion. Instead, they use palliatives such as women’s health, right to choose and reproductive rights. All the maskirovka notwithstanding, it is about abortion and only abortion; it has nothing to do with choice, health or rights. Nonetheless, they have largely succeeded in framing the issue as being about choice rather than abortion.

The master of weaponizing language was Winston Churchill. At Britain’s darkest hour even his own cabinet favored negotiating terms with Germany, i.e. surrendering. Then Churchill delivered his famous speech: “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” Later in this post we present a Churchill collection showcasing how he weaponized the English language, mainly through humor.

Political correctness is propaganda and, like all propaganda, it is a lie.

The term political correctness (“PC”) was first coined by French philosopher Foucault in the 1960s as criticism of unscientific dogma, but its antecedents go back at least as far as Marx. The best definition I have seen is by economist Jeff Deist: “Political correctness is the conscious, designed manipulation of language intended to change the way people speak, write, think, feel and act, in furtherance of an agenda.”

Political correctness is not what you may think. It is not about politeness, good manners, social sensitivity, cultural awareness, inclusiveness, respect, caring, etiquette, deference, courtesy, being nice or about avoiding hurt feelings or slurs. It is an integral weapon in a war for your heart and mind with the ultimate goal of eviscerating the first amendment and criminalizing all speech distasteful to progressives.

We must fight back. We must never surrender the language.

Political correctness is about abnegating realities such as by calling a terrorist attack (Fort Hood) workplace violence. At bottom, PC is propaganda and, like all propaganda, it is a lie. It is about coercion, intimidation, control and totalitarianism. Thought police have existed for as long as demagogues have sought control over others. The only thing different this time is its ubiquity and the sheer lunacy of it all.

We must fight back. We must fight in the schools and universities. We must fight in the blogosphere. We must fight in the media. We must fight in pop culture. We must fight in social media and big tech. We must never surrender the language! Sound familiar? Humor, scorn and ridicule are effective in the battle against PC. And no one was better at those things than Winston Churchill. Following are some of his best uses of the English language to disarm and to put down those with whom he disagreed.

Collection of Lesser Known Churchillian Quips

“She got her good looks from her father; he was a plastic surgeon. . . . If I agreed with you, we both would be wrong. . . . Don’t argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience. . . . Light travels faster than sound; that’s why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. . . . History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it. . . . He has the gift of compressing the largest amount of words into the least amount of thought. . . . He is a modest man who has much to be modest about. . . . I have often had to eat my words, and I have found it a wholesome diet.”