Recently, the New York Times reported that the President Trump’s administration, in as effort to purge the federal government of “woke initiatives”, have flagged hundreds of words and phrases that federal agencies must limit or avoid using. Among the words now purged from the federal lexicon are :
accessible, activism, activists, advocacy, advocate, advocates, affirming care, all-inclusive, allyship, anti-racism, antiracist, assigned at birth, assigned female at birth, assigned male at birth.at risk, barrier, barriers, belong, bias, biased, biased toward, biases, biases towards, biologically female, biologically male, BIPOC, Black, breastfeed + people, breastfeed + person, chestfeed + people, chestfeed + person, clean energy, climate crisis, climate science, commercial sex worker.community diversity, community equity, confirmation bias, cultural competence, cultural differences, cultural heritage, cultural sensitivity, culturally appropriate, culturally responsive, DEI, DEIA, DEIAB, DEIJ, disabilities, disability, discriminated, discrimination, discriminatory, disparity, diverse, diverse backgrounds. diverse communities, diverse community, diverse group, diverse groups , diversified, diversify, diversifying, diversity, enhance the diversity, enhancing diversity, environmental quality, equal opportunity. equality, equitable, equitableness, equity, ethnicity, excluded, exclusion, expression, female, females, feminism, fostering inclusivity, GBV, gender, gender based, gender based violence, gender diversity, gender identity, gender ideology, gender-affirming care, genders, Gulf of Mexico, hate speech, health disparity, health equity, hispanic minority, historically, identity, immigrants, implicit bias, implicit biases. inclusion, inclusive, inclusive leadership, inclusiveness, inclusivity, increase diversity, increase the diversity, indigenous community. inequalities, inequality, inequitable, inequities, inequity, injustice, institutional, intersectional, intersectionality, key groups, key people, key populations,Latinx, LGBT, LGBTQ, marginalize, marginalized, men who have sex with men, mental health,
minorities, minority, most risk, MSM, multicultural, Mx, Native American, non-binary, nonbinary, oppression, oppressive, orientation, people + uterus, people-centered care, person entered, person-centered care, polarization, political, pollution, pregnant people, pregnant person, pregnant persons, prejudice, privilege, privileges, promote diversity, promoting diversity, pronoun, pronouns, prostitute, race, race and ethnicity, racial, racial diversity, racial identity, racial inequality, racial justice, racially, racism, segregation, sense of belonging, sex, sexual preferences, sexuality, social justice, sociocultural, socioeconomic status, stereotype, stereotypes, systemic, systemically, they/them, trans, transgender, transsexual, trauma, traumatic,
tribal, unconscious bias, underappreciated, underprivileged, underrepresentation, under-represented, underserved, undervalued, victim, victims, vulnerable populations, women, women and underrepresented They understood very that deliberately misleading words and phrases are the essence of successful propaganda. During the previous seven decades, the surrogates of the wealthy successfully used the words ‘liberal’, ‘government’, and a panoply of related synonyms such as ‘tax and spend’, ‘death tax’, and ‘government mandates’ to convey something sinister; slogans such as ‘free enterprise’, ‘individual rights’ and the ‘American way’ were invoked to convey something wonderful and patriotic.
The right-wing autocrats who are advising the Trump administration instinctively know that the key to perpetual control is to control what one thought. They know that the selective and careful use of words shape the cultural, political, and economic narratives.
They understand that deliberately misleading words and phrases are the essence of successful propaganda. During the previous seven decades, the surrogates of the wealthy and their enablers have successfully employed the words ‘liberal’, ‘government’, and a panoply of related synonyms such as ‘tax and spend’, ‘death tax’, and ‘government mandates’ to convey something sinister and pejorative ; slogans such as ‘free enterprise’, ‘individual rights’ and the ‘American way’ were invoked to convey something wonderful and patriotic.
These autocrats are banking on their suspicion that only a small minority of this country’s population have ever read 1984 or are familiar with the work. In that seminal book, George Orwell explored the link between language and thought. The central character, Winston Smith, works in the Ministry of Truth. His job is to help to create for the omnipresent tyranny that governs Oceana a new language, Newspeak. Newspeak is the ultimate language of control: Each year in the Ministry of Truth, thousands of words are eliminated. Antonyms are intentionally collapsed into synonyms. Hence, “Freedom is slavery, “Ignorance is strength,” “War is peace.”
Orwell reminded readers in the appendix to his novel that when language is used in a deliberately misleading way, our thoughts become unfocused; our ability to distinguish between that which is true and that which is untrue becomes untethered. When one loses the capacity to use words correctly, one loses the capacity to think; when one loses the capacity to think, the ability to imagine alternatives to the status quo or to rebel is irrevocably extinguished.