Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | RSS
What do you call it when someone intentionally uses contradictory language to mislead or distract you? The modern term for that is called “Newspeak.” From the book 1984, Newspeak was coined for the ambiguous language used by politicians to manipulate the public. Today Newspeak is used not just by politicians, but by many in an attempt to win the argument by bluster rather than data. How do we combat these intentionally to mislead? The same way bank tellers learn to identify counterfeit money, by only handling the real thing. If you want to be able to spot the lie, you start by studying the original documents. Only when the American people stop looking to others to determine what is and isn’t true, and find out for ourselves can we hope to live free.