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Decoding Bush's Newspeak by Rick Gee In
George Orwell’s 1984, Newspeak is the official language of Oceania, the
imperial state. Unlike traditional dictionaries that add words with each
new edition, each succeeding edition of the Newspeak dictionary contained fewer
words. Not only was the vocabulary reduced in volume, but also the words in use
were stripped of all but the narrowest connotation. The goal of Newspeak was to
render independent thought and dissent next to impossible. The
use of Newspeak has become rampant in recent years. President George W.
Bush’s speechwriters surely had a Newspeak dictionary at the ready while
preparing his crucial address to the nation on Thursday night (you just know
that Bill Clinton, who took parsing the language to new lows, was kicking
himself for running for president four years too soon). When Bush addressed a
joint session of Congress, he was really addressing the American television
audience. His goal? Rally the subjects to "America’s New War." To
do so, the president employed a great deal of Newspeak. Let’s take a closer
look at some examples from that address, and also reveal what he really means. "I
thank the Congress for its leadership at such an important time . . . by
delivering $40 billion to rebuild our communities and meet the needs of our
military." Gee,
I only asked for $20 billion. But hell, I'll take it. And there will be more
where that came from, right boys? That’s good, because communities surely
cannot rebuild themselves without our divine intervention. And despite the fact
that we spend as much on defense as the next six nations combined, the cost of
hegemony is very expensive. "America
has no truer friend than Great Britain. Once again, we are joined together in a
great cause." We
saved your bacon in two World Wars, so now it’s your turn to send your sons
and daughters off to all corners of the globe to die in order that we may both
expand our power. “Americans
have known wars, but for the past 136 years, they have been wars on foreign
soil, except for one Sunday in 1941.” War
is only unacceptable when it occurs within our borders. Hey, that Pearl Harbor
metaphor sure comes in handy. “Americans
have known surprise attacks but never before on thousands of civilians.” Surprise attacks by our military have killed thousands of civilians, but you won’t hear about it on CNN. “The
terrorists’ directive commands them to kill Christians and Jews, to kill all
Americans, and make no distinctions among military and civilians, including
women and children.” Terror wrought by our military has killed countless civilians, including women and children, but you won’t hear about it on ABC. “Our
war on terror begins with al-Qaida, but it does not end there. It will not end
until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped, and
defeated.” This campaign will take forever. War is the health of the state. We must put an end to all terrorism, even if it means perpetrating more of the same. “Americans
are asking: Why do they hate us? They hate what we see right here in this
chamber, a democratically elected government.” They hate what they see right here in this chamber: a government that arrogantly interferes in the affairs of almost every other nation, consequences be damned. “They
hate our freedoms, our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom
to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.” They hate our freedom to disagree with each other. By the way, have I mentioned yet that you are either with us, or you are with the terrorists? “We
will direct every resource at our command: every means of diplomacy, every tool
of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence,
and every necessary weapon of war to the disruption and defeat of the global
terror network.” We will pretend to employ diplomacy, but how do we reason with terrorists? We will expand the power of the FBI and CIA to snoop on you just in case you might be a terrorist. We will empower the police to stop you at will and demand to see your National ID card. We will confiscate even more of your wealth to fund our military as it engages in the impossible task of fighting fire with fire. “Americans
should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have
seen.” I am the commander-in-chief. I have the power to send young men and women to the Middle East to die for their government. It says so right in that Constitution that I routinely ignore with impunity. “And
we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism . . . (f)rom
this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will
be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.” Except for Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and any other nations that pretend to be our friends. “Either
you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” Get in line, or else. That means you, too, lowly subjects. Support your government; it knows what’s best for you. “We
will take defensive measures against terrorism to protect Americans.” But don’t mistake me for George Washington: We will not engage in free trade with everyone, and we will maintain our entangling alliances. “Today,
dozens of federal departments and agencies, as well as state and local
governments, have responsibilities affecting homeland security.
These efforts must be coordinated at the highest level. So tonight I
announce the creation of a cabinet-level position reporting directly to me: the
Office of Homeland Security.” I know that we already confiscate an obscene portion of your money, but it’s not enough. For you to be truly secure, we need even more of your money. And we must concentrate even more power in the central state. “I
have called the armed forces to alert, and there is a reason. The hour is coming
when America will act.” War is the health of the state, war is the health of the state, war is the health of the state. “We
ask every nation to join us.” We demand that every nation join us. To repeat: You are either with us, or you are with the terrorists. “We
will ask, and we will need, the help of police forces, intelligence services,
and banking systems around the world.” Forget about your sovereignty. Forget about your liberties and your privacy. “The
thousands of FBI agents who are now at work in this investigation may need your
cooperation, and I ask you to give it.” You might know a terrorist. You might be harboring a terrorist. You might even be a terrorist. If so, we will find out about it. Resistance is futile. “We
will come together to improve air safety, to dramatically expand the number of
air marshals on domestic flights, and take new measures to prevent hijacking.” I know the FAA didn’t protect anyone on September 11, but starting right now, it will, I promise. Sure, on an average day 40,000 flights are in the air in the US, and putting an air marshal on every flight will cost millions, but you do want to be protected, don’t you? I realize that passengers carrying concealed weapons loaded with frangible ammunition would end hijackings overnight, but that could only happen in a free country. “We
will come together to promote stability and keep our airlines flying with direct
assistance during this emergency.” We will expropriate more of your hard-earned wealth to subsidize the airlines. Remember, though; with more federal dollars come more federal regulations. Heck, we might have to take over the entire industry. “We
will come together to give law enforcement the additional tools it needs to
track down terror here at home.” We will suspend habeas corpus (I am a member of the Party of Lincoln, after all). We will force Carnivore down the throats of every ISP in the US, if not the world. We will eviscerate what’s left of the Constitution. It’s all for your protection. “We
will come together to strengthen our intelligence capabilities to know the plans
of terrorists before they act, and find them before they strike.” The
abject failure of our intelligence agencies to stop the terrorists on September
11 was a fluke. We’ll get it right next time. Really. As long as the government of the United States is determined and strong, this will be an age where we export terror and hegemony so that others across the world can be forced to be free. "I
will not yield. I will not rest. I will not relent in waging this struggle for
the freedom and security of the American people." I will be the president for the next three to seven years. I will do everything within my authority to concentrate power in the central state so that you will have the security that only the state can provide. And since this country is governed by polls, I will take polling data that suggests most of you are willing to trade liberty for security as a mandate. Forget what Benjamin Franklin said; that was over two hundred years ago, long before the airplane was invented. “Fellow
citizens, we will meet violence with patient justice assured of the rightness of
our cause, and confident of the victories to come.” WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. September 23, 2001 Rick
Gee [send him mail] resides in
paradise, also known as Santa Fe, New Mexico. He writes about liberty, sports,
film and other topics for The Valley
News. In addition to being a Root
Striker, he is a columnist at anti-state.com
and a commentator at LewRockwell.com. |