Political Euphemisms

Original Post: 16 September 2012
Posted Here: 3 December 2017

I received a card from Americans for Prosperity in the mail not long ago and was reminded of the political euphemisms that people use to hide their agendas. We should keep these kinds of words in mind when creating names in our stories. Actually, "euphemism" is probably a euphemism for a stronger, more accurate word for what they are doing.

For instance, what "people" do you suppose are meant when you see the word used in the name of a country or some organization? For example, what people are in charge of the People's Republic of China or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea? Would you want to be one of those people? I discovered an interesting Australian website, http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/North_Korea, that you might like to check out if you aren't sure. Which of those places do you think is a "republic"? A "democracy"?

Any time that I see "People for...", I wonder who those people are. What is it that they are really for? Probably something that will make them richer and you and me poorer.

So when I saw "Americans for Prosperity" on the card I assumed that the Americans in charge probably aren't interested in our prosperity, but theirs. I was convinced when I saw that they were advertising "Obama's Failing Agenda Tour."

According to an article in Wikipedia about Americans for Prosperity, "The group played a major role in the Republicans' 2010 takeover of the House of Representatives, and has been called 'one of the most powerful conservative organizations in electoral politics.'" Surprise, surprise! Foxes to guard the henhouse.

I remember a study that I saw once that concluded that most people forget news items within a couple of weeks. That's why politicians (and celebrities in general) can get away with doing something outlandish. Who's going to remember what they did after a few weeks anyhow, let alone 4 years ago?

Few apparently remember that it was the Republicans and their fat cat business associates that got us into our latest economic mess, and then continued to do everything that they could to keep Obama from getting things fixed. Since no one remembers that the mess was here before Obama, they assume that it's his fault. It wasn't "Obama's failing agenda" that got us into this mess. Those folks that are pointing fingers at Obama should be pointing at themselves. It's their fault that the economy that they nearly destroyed has only partially recovered. Are you better off than you were 4 years ago? If you are one of those who still aren't better off, think about why it's true. Then you won't blame Obama.

Keep reading/keep writing - Jack