Nineteen Eighty-Four’s “Newspeak” in 2014.

Part of George Orwell’s genius was his understanding of how language shapes ideas. Words and phrases are not neutral. Consider the difference in meaning between the glass half-full and the glass half-empty.

In ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ Big Brother’s authority stemmed in part from “newspeak” – a language designed to simplify English – and remove negative words -in order to enhance the ability of the state to control thought. In addition the state promoted “doublethink” – the ability to think two contrary thoughts and believe in both. If the state said “white = black”, or “2+2 = 5″ then it must be so.

And there were the state slogans “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”

This perverse use of language is not restricted to Orwell’s novel. Who will forget the GOPs “death panel” characterization of  an end-of-life counseling session or “death tax” for estate tax. Current newspeak reduces complex economic solutions to “job-killing” measures. And promotes heterosexual unions as “traditional marriage”.

States that have eviscerated unions proudly label themselves as “right to work”. Fox News calls itself“fair and balanced”. Homosexuals demanding equal marriage rights are promoting the “gay agenda”. A law allowing more pollution is called the “Clear Skies Act.” Another one expanding spying on Americans is called the “USA PATRIOT ACT.”

Not to mention “creation science”, “job creator”, “family values”, “class warfare” and “welfare queen”.One of the rationales for restrictions on women’s health clinics is that they “protect women”. Ted Cruzcharacterizes a Senate bill to restore access to these clinics as a “manifestation of a war on women.”

Everyone has an opinion on what should happen to the unaccompanied Central American kids crossing the border. But they leave right-wing evangelical Christians with a problem – how do you appear to care about the plight of parentless children, while at the same time enforcing restrictive immigration laws? The answer is to claim that measures to keep the kids out of the country are in fact for the kids’ benefit.

To this end. they have latched on to the idea that if we fortify the border, and get that message out, these kids won’t take the journey that offers nothing but rape, violence and possibly death. Of course they elide the fact that these kids are making the journey to escape rape, violence and possible death in their home countries.

A Dallas Pastor, Robert Jeffress, promoted this inhumanity with an analogy. “If you’re a homeowner with a swimming pool that doesn’t have a fence around it, and a neighborhood child wanders in and drowns, you’re liable because you have enticed that child into a dangerous situation. The remedy is to build a fence.” And this sadist calls himself a Christian?

The lesson learned, is that politicians will use words that often cast the object of their description in a very different light than the truth.