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George Orwell: The Enemy Of Clear Language

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George Orwell presumes, “The enemy of clear language is insincerity.” But what, exactly, is clear language? It is saying succinctly and plainly what is meant without the intention of offense. However, with the modern rules of adhering to a continuous doctrine of being, as dictionary.com says, “multiculturally sensitive,” it is almost impossible to state exactly what is meant. No one likes to be called offensive names or stereotypical slurs, but when considering such insults, words such as “racist,” or “sexist,” are usually labeled toward the insulter, not the insulted. Yet, with the strict, but implied rules of political correctness, these labels get thrown around quickly and easily at any slip of the tongue without concern for the person’s …show more content…

An anonymous voter from Finland commented that, “it has not gone quite that far in Findland though, and I hope it never will,” which supports the assertion that the majority of the “no” voters are not from the United States. Clearly, there were more voters from the major areas of the United states, pointing out that the majority “yes” is, in fact, indicative of American expression being inhibited. United States citizens also commented with their opinions, and not surprisingly, the only ones that felt compelled to share their opinions were the ones that voted “yes.” One of these commenters stressed that, “the moment [political correctness] prevents any real justice and hampers progress of the human race, it has [gone too far]. And that line was crossed long ago.” Other more blunt answers included, “sometimes you gotta call things what they are,” and even, “PC is …show more content…

Nevertheless, there is no lack of opinions that see it as a concept that should be utilized. To some, this essentially comes down to civility: to being polite. Supporters of this notion may assert that those that are against political correctness are just unsympathetic, or downright rude. They may claim that political correctness is necessary because of the amount of insults thrown around, or the simple ignorance of some that choose to speak out against something. However, it is more ignorant to believe that we have the authority to judge and police what other people have to say or choose to do. While the political correctness movement was created in order to help protect people’s feelings, it is just not practical. It is, in the words of Charles Heston, “tyranny with manners.” And while it may have spared feelings, it has also created topics that are almost completely avoided for fear of being labeled as a dogmatist. How can any issues regarding diversity be addressed if the government, the mass media, and citizens in the public eye are tiptoeing around these subjects? We must be comfortable expressing feelings, concerns, and curiosities about people and things that are different from what we are used to, or else, how will we ever learn to understand and truly except those things? Sure, it is important to not hurt someone’s feelings, but it is more important to maintain the integrity of our words. It

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