It is out of control and may be getting worse.  Ze, ve, xe, ne, hir, ey eirs, xyr are just a few of the made-up pronouns making the rounds of the politically correct police in their quest to eliminate gender specificity.  Terrorists are called rebels or insurgents yet patriots are labelled troublemakers or agitators.  Cardiff University in the UK has banned words such as housewife, mankind, and sportsmanship in an effort to “promote fairness and equality through raising awareness about potentially discriminatory vocabulary.” Many US universities have also issued guidelines about potentially offensive words or phrases.  Why don’t these institutions of higher learning concentrate on educating our youth instead of indoctrinating them to “politically correct” speech?

It seems that every day there is another story about someone claiming to be “offended” by someone’s speech but notice that it usually seems to be those on the left who demand that we on the right change our speech.  They want “God” removed from our slogan and some claim our national anthem is racist.

These are troubling times, somewhat reminiscent of Newspeak.  George Orwell writes in his essay, “Politics and the English Language,” “If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” Here is the very concept behind the invention of Newspeak. The idea is that, as language must become less expressive, the mind is more easily controlled. Through his creation and explanation of Newspeak, Orwell warns the reader that if a government creates the language and mandates how it is used, they can control the minds of its citizens.  For example, without a word for freedom, the concept of freedom cannot exist.

I am not the first to equate this PC movement with Newspeak,   Further, in 1984, thoughtcrime is the name given to negative or unorthodox thoughts about the Party.  First restrict speech, then restrict and criminalize thoughts.

Look at Mueller’s list of questions for President Trump.  Many of them begin with “What did you think…”  Scary.

Orwell, George.  1984.  London:Secker and Warburg, 1949.